The term cancer does not refer to a single disease, but rather to more than 100 individual diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells within the body. Most normal cells grow, reproduce and die in an orderly, controlled fashion. However, cancer cells grow and divide endlessly, crowding out nearby healthy cells and eventually spreading to other parts of the body. This spread of cancerous cells is called metastasis.

A malignant tumor is a mass, or collection, of cancer cells. Malignant tumors grow rapidly and can invade nearby tissues. They can eventually metastasize (spread) to other parts of the body.

A benign tumor, on the other hand, is a mass of cells that is not cancerous. It will not invade nearby tissues or metastasize (spread) to other parts of the body.

Cancer of the gallbladder, an uncommon cancer, is a disease in which cancerous (malignant) cells are found in the tissues of the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that lies just under the liver in the upper abdomen. Bile, a fluid made by the liver, is stored in the gallbladder. When food is being broken down (digested) in the stomach and the intestines, bile is released from the gallbladder through a tube called the bile duct that connects the gallbladder and liver to the first part of the small intestine. The bile helps to digest fat.

Cancer of the gallbladder is more common in women than in men. It is also more common in people who have hard clusters of material in their gallbladder (gallstones).

Cancer of the gallbladder is hard to find because the gallbladder is hidden behind other organs in the abdomen. Cancer of the gallbladder is sometimes found after the gallbladder is removed for other reasons.

The chance of recovery (prognosis) and choice of treatment depend on the stage of cancer (whether it is just in the gallbladder or has spread to other places) and on the patient’s general health.

Stages

Once cancer of the gallbladder is found, more tests will be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. A doctor needs to know the stage to plan treatment. The following stages are used for cancer of the gallbladder:

• Localized: Cancer is found only in the tissues that make up the wall of the gallbladder, and it can be removed completely in an operation.
• Unresectable:All of the cancer cannot be removed in an operation. Cancer has spread to the tissues around the gallbladder, such as the liver, stomach, pancreas, or intestine and/or to lymph nodes in the area.
• Recurrent:the cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. It may come back in the gallbladder or in another part of the body.