Support Gallbladder and Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month
Every February, Comprehensive Cancer Centers honors Gallbladder and Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month. The month is sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research and is critical since gallbladder cancer and bile duct cancer are relatively rare forms of cancer. Raising awareness for these diseases is critical for early diagnosis and treatment.
An estimated 12,000 people living in the United States will be diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in 2019, according data from the American Cancer Society.
The goal of Gallbladder and Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month is to educate the public about the gallbladder, which is a pear-shaped organ in the abdomen, below the liver. The organ collects and stores bile, a fluid made by the liver, to aid with digestion of fats. The bile ducts are thin tube-like vessels that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine. Extrahepatic bile duct cancer is a rare form of the disease in which cancer cells form in the ducts that are outside the liver. Cancer can also develop in the bile ducts inside the liver. Bile duct cancer is also called cholangiocarcinoma.
What are Symptoms of Gallbladder and Bile Duct Cancer?
Symptoms of both gallbladder and bile duct cancer include yellowing of the skin and/or the whites of the eyes (jaundice), abdominal pain, and fever. In addition, gallbladder cancer symptoms include nausea and vomiting, bloating, and lumps in the abdomen.
How do Gallbladder Cancer and Bile Duct Cancer Develop?
Gallbladder cancer begins in the inner, or mucosal, layer of the organ, most commonly in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids. It then spreads into the muscle and outer layers. Bile duct cancer forms in cells in any portion of the bile duct network.
Scientists have found that individuals who fit the profile below are more likely to develop gallbladder cancer:
- Females – In the U.S., gallbladder cancer occurs more than twice as often in women. Gallstones and gallbladder inflammation are important risk factors for gallbladder cancer and are also much more common in women than men.
- Older age – More than 2 out of 3 people with gallbladder cancer are 65 or older when it is found.
- Obesity – Patients with gallbladder cancer are often overweight or obese. Obesity is also a risk factor for gallstones, which might help explain this link.
- Ethnicity and geography – In the U.S., the risk of developing gallbladder cancer is highest among Mexican Americans and Native Americans.
- Family history – A history of gallbladder cancer in the family seems to increase a person’s chances of developing this cancer, but the risk is still low because this is a rare disease.
In addition to the above demographic considerations, many risk factors are related in some way to chronic inflammation (irritation and swelling) in the gallbladder, which includes:
- Gallstones – At least 3 out of 4 people with gallbladder cancer have gallstones when they are diagnosed.
- Porcelain gallbladder – This is a condition in which the wall of the gallbladder becomes covered with calcium deposits.
- Choledochal cysts – These are bile-filled sacs that are connected to the common bile duct, the tube that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine.
- Bile duct abnormalities – Ducts that flow pancreatic juice into the small intestine to help digestion sometimes experience reflux (flow backward) into the bile ducts. People with this abnormality are at higher risk of gallbladder cancer.
- Gallbladder polyps – A growth that bulges from the surface of the inner gallbladder wall.
- Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) – Inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts.
- Industrial and environmental chemicals – Working in the rubber and textile industries, and exposure to chemical compounds called nitrosamines may increase the risk of gallbladder cancer.
- Typhoid – People chronically infected with salmonella (the bacterium that causes typhoid) and those who are carriers of the disease are more likely to get gallbladder cancer.
Risk factors for bile duct cancer include having chronic colitis, certain liver diseases, and infection with a worm parasite known as the clonorchis sinensis, or the Chinese liver fluke. Risk factors for gallbladder cancer are being a woman and being Native American.
Both forms of cancer are often diagnosed at later, more advanced stages because most people display few, if any, recognizable symptoms at early stages.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers Can Help
Physicians at Comprehensive Cancer Centers provide a variety of treatment options for patients who’ve been referred to the practice for the treatment of gallbladder and bile duct cancers. To schedule an appointment with the team at Comprehensive, please call 702-952-3350.
The content is this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.