Overview

What Is Gallbladder Cancer?

The gallbladder is a small organ beneath the liver that stores bile. Bile breaks down fat in the foods you eat and helps you digest food. There are several forms of gallbladder cancer, including:

• Adenocarcinoma: About 90% of gallbladder cancers are adenocarcinoma, which develops in the gland cells. A type of this cancer called papillary adenocarcinoma is less likely than other types of gallbladder cancer to spread to other organs.
• Rarer types of gallbladder cancer include:
• Sarcoma: Cancer of the soft tissue.
• Small cell carcinoma
• Adenosquamous carcinoma: Cancer that impacts two types of cells, squamous cells, which line organs, and gland-like cells.
• Squamous cell carcinoma: Cancer in the lining of the gallbladder tissue.

Symptoms of Gallbladder Cancer

Symptoms of gallbladder cancer may not appear until advanced stages of the cancer and may include:

• Pain in your upper right abdomen
• A sense fullness, even if you only eat a small amount
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Lumps in the abdomen
• Unexplained weight loss
• Lack of appetite
• Yellowing of the skin (jaundice) or the whites of the eyes (scleral icterus)
• Fever
• Severe itching

These symptoms may also be related to other health conditions, such as gallstones or a gallbladder infection.