Localized Gallbladder Cancer
Unresectable Gallbladder Cancer
Recurrent Gallbladder Cancer

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Treatment of localized gallbladder cancer may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the gallbladder and some of the tissue around it. The liver and 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.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with localized gallbladder cancer ¹. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site ².

Treatment of unresectable gallbladder cancer may include the following:

• Radiation therapy as palliative treatment, with or without surgery or the placement of stents, to relieve symptoms caused by blocked bile ducts.
• Surgery as palliative treatment 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.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with unresectable gallbladder cancer ³. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site ².

Treatment of recurrent gallbladder cancer is usually done in a clinical trial.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent gallbladder cancer ⁴. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site ².

Glossary Terms

A tube through which bile passes in and out of the liver.

Treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells.

A type of research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people. These studies test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease. Also called clinical study.

The pear-shaped organ found below the liver. Bile is concentrated and stored in the gallbladder.

Cancer that forms in tissues of the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ below the liver that collects and stores bile (a fluid made by the liver to digest fat). Gallbladder cancer begins in the innermost layer of tissue and spreads through the outer layers as it grows.

A type of radiation therapy in which radioactive material sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters is placed directly into or near a tumor. Also called brachytherapy, implant radiation therapy, and radiation brachytherapy.

A large organ located in the upper abdomen. The liver cleanses the blood and aids in digestion by secreting bile.

Cancer found only in the tissues that make up the wall of the gallbladder. Localized gallbladder cancer can be removed completely in an operation.

A rounded mass of lymphatic tissue that is surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue. Lymph nodes filter lymph (lymphatic fluid), and they store lymphocytes (white blood cells). They are located along lymphatic vessels. Also called lymph gland.

Treatment given to relieve the symptoms and reduce the suffering caused by cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Palliative cancer therapies are given together with other cancer treatments, from the time of diagnosis, through treatment, survivorship, recurrent or advanced disease, and at the end of life.

The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, protons, and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy). Systemic radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance, such as a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody, that travels in the blood to tissues throughout the body. Also called irradiation and radiotherapy.

A drug that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Also called radiosensitizing agent.

Cancer that has recurred (come back), usually after a period of time during which the cancer could not be detected. The cancer may come back to the same place as the original (primary) tumor or to another place in the body. Also called recurrence.

The extent of a cancer in the body. Staging is usually based on the size of the tumor, whether lymph nodes contain cancer, and whether the cancer has spread from the original site to other parts of the body.

A device placed in a body structure (such as a blood vessel or the gastrointestinal tract) to keep the structure open.

A procedure to remove or repair a part of the body or to find out whether disease is present. An operation.

An indication that a person has a condition or disease. Some examples of symptoms are headache, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and pain.

A group or layer of cells that work together to perform a specific function.

Cancer that has spread to the tissues around the gallbladder (such as the liver, stomach, pancreas, intestine, or lymph nodes in the area) and cannot be surgically removed.