American Liver Society

Treatment Options for Gallbladder Cancer

Localized Gallbladder Cancer
Unresectable Gallbladder Cancer
Recurrent Gallbladder Cancer

Localized Gallbladder Cancer

Treatment of localized gallbladder cancer may include the following:

Surgery to remove the gallbladder and some of the tissue around it. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed. Radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy may follow surgery.
Radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.
A clinical trial of radiation therapy with radiosensitizers.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site.

Unresectable Gallbladder Cancer

Treatment of unresectable gallbladder cancer may include the following:

Surgery as palliative treatment to relieve symptoms caused by blocked bile ducts.
Radiation therapy as palliative treatment, with or without surgery or the placement of stents, to relieve symptoms caused by blocked bile ducts.
Chemotherapy as palliative treatment to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer.
A clinical trial of internal radiation therapy or radiosensitizers.
A clinical trial of chemotherapy.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Cancer.gov Web site.