Symptoms:
Gallbladder cancer signs and symptoms may include:
- At early stage often it is asymptomatic.
- Abdominal pain, particularly in the upper right portion of the abdomen
- Abdominal bloating
- Weight loss and decreased appetite
- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice
Causes:
The exact cause of carcinoma of Gallbladder is not known. Gallbladder cancer develops when healthy gallbladder cells undergo mutations (mutations) on their genome. The mutations tell the cells to grow beyond control and to live while other cells normally be dying. The cells that accumulate form an abnormality that may grow beyond the gallbladder, and then spread into other parts in the body. The majority of gallbladder cancers begin in the cells that form the outer surface of the gallbladder. Gallbladder cancer that begins in this type of cell is called adenocarcinoma which can be diagnosed under microscope.
Risk Factor
Factors that can increase the risk of gallbladder cancer include:
- Your sex.It is more common in women.
- Age. Your risk of gallbladder cancer increases as you age. Most commonly seen after 60 years of age.
- A history of gallstones. Gallbladder cancer is the most frequent among those who suffer from gallstones, or have suffered from gallstones in the past.
- Blood tests.Other gallbladder disorders that could raise the chance of developing gallbladder cancer include chronic inflammation, polyps and infection.
- Other gallbladder diseases and conditions. Your doctor might test the blood of your patient for a substance commonly produced by colon cancer (carcinoembryonic antigen, also known as CEA). Monitored over time, the quantity of CEA in your blood could aid your doctor to determine the prognosis for you and whether or not your cancer responds to treatment.
- Inflammation of the bile ducts. Primary sclerosing Cholangitis, which results in inflammation and swelling of bile ducts, which drain from the gallbladder and the liver can increase the risk of cancer of the gallbladder.
Diagnosis:
- Blood Test No blood test can detect Gall Bladder cancer specifically. CA19.9 in serum can help your doctor to monitor after cancer treatment.
- Ultrasonography: It can show the growth in the gall bladder wall, wall thickness or some lesions in liver.
- CECT and MRCP: Most people with gallbladder cancer will undergo a series of scans to help determine whether the cancer has spread or remains localized. Imaging tests that can create pictures of the gallbladder including computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can diagnose gall bladder cancer.
Staging
Your doctor utilizes information from these tests to assign the cancer an appropriate stage. Gallbladder cancer stages vary from zero to IV. The initial stages are indicative of an illness that is restricted to the gallbladder. These are generally treatable. Later stages signify a more advanced cancer that has spread to adjacent organs or been spread to other parts within the body. Stage IV diseases are incurable.
Treatment
Treatment of gallbladder cancer depend on the stage of the disease, your overall health and your preferences.
The initial goal of treatment is to remove the gallbladder cancer, but many a times that isn't possible, other therapies may help control the spread of the disease and keep you as comfortable as possible.
Surgery for early-stage gallbladder cancer:
Surgery is an option for early-stage gallbladder cancer.
- Cholecystectomy.
Very early gallbladder cancer that is confined to the gallbladder mucosa is treated with removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) only.
- Radical Cholecystectomy (Surgery to remove the gallbladder and a portion of the liver and lymphnodes).
Gallbladder cancer that extends beyond the gallbladder mucosa and sometimes into the liver is treated with surgery to remove the gallbladder, as well as portions of the liver and regional draining lymphnodes.
- Completion Radical Cholecystectomy:
Many a times patient came to know about their disease only after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In these cases re-surgery to remove part of liver around the gall bladder fossa and regional lymph nodes is indicated.
- If your gallbladder cancer is very small and can be removed completely with Simple or Radical cholecystectomy, you may not need additional treatments. If there's a risk that cancer cells may remain after surgery, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy or other treatments.
Chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill rapidly growing cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be administered through a vein in your arm or in a pill form or both.
Chemotherapy might be recommended after surgery if there's a risk that some gallbladder cancer cells might remain. It can also be used to control the cancer if surgery isn't an option in cases of spread out disease.
Radiation therapy:
Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams of energy, such as X-rays to kill cancer cells. The energy beams originate from a machine which moves around you when you lie on the table. Sometimes, radiation therapy is coupled with chemotherapy following the operation for gallbladder cancer, if the cancer isn't able to be eliminated completely. The treatment can also be used to treat gallbladder cancers that cause pain when surgery isn't an alternative.
Targeted drug therapy:
Targeted drug treatments focus on specific molecular targets present within cancer cells. By blocking these, targeted drug treatments can cause cancer cells to die. Targeted drugs might be an option for people with advanced gallbladder cancer. Your doctor may test your cancer cells in tumor specimen to see which targeted drugs are most likely to work for you.
Immunotherapy:
Immunotherapy is a drug treatment that helps your immune system to fight cancer. Your body's disease-fighting immune system might not attack cancer because the cancer cells produce proteins that make it hard for the immune system cells to recognize the cancer cells as dangerous. Immunotherapy works by interfering with that process. Immunotherapy might be an option for treating advanced gallbladder cancer. so book your online appointment now.
