Gall Bladder Cancer Treatments

Gall bladder cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer due to the difficulty in diagnosing the illness. Once gall bladder cancer has been diagnosed, there are a variety of gall bladder cancer treatments that may be available, depending on what stage the cancer has progressed to. An early diagnosis can actually mean a high chance of survival, while gall bladder cancer in its later stages is almost always fatal.

In stage I gall bladder cancers, the cancer may be confined within the organ, and removing it will remove the cancer completely. Gall bladder cancer found in stage one with localized cancer that can be removed has a five year survival rate or nearly 100 percent. If the cancer has progressed past the gall bladder, the survival rates are less than 15 percent.

Most patients with gall bladder cancer that has progressed to stages II through IV will have cancer that has left the gall bladder, and removal of the organ will not completely remove the disease. The cancer will often move from the gall bladder into the liver or lymph nodes and from there to other organs. Once the cancer has progressed this far, there are no reliable gall bladder cancer treatments other than radiation and chemotherapy. One of the problems with chemotherapy at this stage is that the patient may be too weak for the treatment.

Gall bladder cancer is a relatively rare cancer, and currently there are no clinical trials aimed specifically toward this type of cancer. There are some clinical trials for the treatment of non-specific types of cancer, and these may prove to be worth pursuing. There are trials that involve combining radiation with drugs that are used to enhance the effects radiation treatment, called radiosensitizer drugs. These have been known to help treat some forms of cancer, such as head and neck cancers.

If chemotherapy is determined to be the best mode of treatment, the issue of the patient's weakness may prevent it from being utilized. Gall bladder cancer interferes with the body's nutrition absorption, and weight loss and weakness are common. If a patient is looking for a way to stop weight loss in order to undergo treatment, a j-tube may be an option. This is feeding tube that can be inserted directly into the small intestines to provide nutrition that has a better chance of being absorbed. A j-tube requires a few days in the hospital, and then the patient can go home with the tube and continue the tube feedings there.