About Cancer
Gallbladder cancer is a rare cancer that begins in the gallbladder, which is part of the .
The gallbladder is a small, hollow, pear-shaped pouch about 8cm long and about 2.5cm wide. It lies underneath the right side of your liver, in your upper abdomen.
Two tubes connect to the gallbladder, the small and large bile ducts. Together these make up the common bile duct. The gallbladder and bile ducts form your biliary tract. This is called the biliary tree or biliary system.
You may hear it called biliary cancer. This is because gallbladder and biliary tract cancers are sometimes grouped together.
We have separate information about bile duct cancer.
Gallbladder cancer is when abnormal cells in the gallbladder start to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. Without treatment, the cells can eventually grow into surrounding tissues or organs, and may spread to other areas of the body.
Find out more about cancer and how it starts
The gallbladder concentrates and stores bile.
Bile is a fluid made in the liver from cholesterol, water, bilirubin and bile salts. Bilirubin comes from the breakdown of used red blood cells and gives bile its greenish colour.
Bile helps you to break down (digest) fats in your small bowel (intestine). To get the bile to the food in your gut, your body either:
releases it straight away from the liver and down the bile ducts into your small intestine
stores it first in your gallbladder, which releases bile into your common bile duct as you need it
Your gallbladder is not an essential part of your body. You can live without it. So after having it taken out, you’re still able to digest your food.
Like all other parts of the body, there are lymph nodes near the gallbladder. You may hear these called lymph glands. They are small bean shaped glands that are part of the lymphatic system. They help to control infection by filtering the lymphatic fluid. They filter out any bacteria, viruses or damaged cells.
Learn more about the lymphatic system
The lymph nodes are often the first place that cancer cells reach when they break away from a tumour. So surgeons usually remove them during cancer surgery and send them to the lab. A specialist called a pathologist examines them for cancer cells.
Removing and checking lymph nodes is part of staging the cancer. The stage of a cancer is important. It helps doctors to decide the most suitable treatment.
Read about the stages of gallbladder cancer
Gallbladder cancer is rare. Around 1,300 people are diagnosed in the UK each year. It's more common in women than in men.
The symptoms of gallbladder cancer include tummy pain, feeling sick, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice) or an enlarged gallbladder.
Factors that increase the risk of developing gallbladder cancer include age, gallstones, gallbladder polyps and being overweight. Read about these and other risk factors.
You usually start by seeing your GP. They might refer you for tests or to a specialist if you have symptoms that could be caused by gallbladder cancer.
You have a number of tests to check for gallbladder cancer. This can include a physical examination, blood tests, biopsy and different types of scans.
The stage of a cancer tells you about its size and whether it has spread. The grade means how abnormal the cells look under the microscope.
The type of cancer tells you which type of cell it started in. There are several types of gallbladder cancer.
Advanced gallbladder cancer is cancer that has spread outside the gallbladder into lymph nodes or nearby organs. Or that has spread to another part of the body such as the lungs (secondary or metastatic gallbladder cancer).
Last reviewed: 14 Aug 2023
Next review due: 14 Aug 2026
This section has been written, reviewed and updated by Cancer Research UK’s Patient Information Web Team. Thanks to the expert medical professionals and people affected by cancer who have helped to review this information.
Miss Anita Balakrishnan (Consultant Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon and Affiliated Assistant Professor)
Dr Saoirse Dolly (Consultant Medical Oncologist)
Our lay reviewers
About Cancer generously supported by Dangoor Education since 2010. Learn more about Dangoor Education
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