Information about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
New to MyHealth?
Manage Your Care From Anywhere.
Access your health information from any device with MyHealth. You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill.
ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
DON'T HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
NEED MORE DETAILS?
MyHealth for Mobile
Get the iPhone MyHealth app »
Get the Android MyHealth app »
Gallbladder Cancer Treatments
Treatment Options for Gallbladder Cancer
Local vs. systemic treatment
Treatment for gallbladder cancer is either local or systemic. You may have just one treatment or a combination of treatments.
- Local treatments remove, destroy, or control cancer cells in one area of the body. Surgery and radiation are local treatments.
- Systemic treatments destroy or control cancer cells throughout the whole body. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment.
Treatments for gallbladder cancer and their goals
Each type of treatment has a different goal. Your doctor will explain the benefits and possible side effects of each option. Discuss any concerns you have before making a decision. Here is a list of various treatments for gallbladder cancer and their goals:
Chemotherapy
The use of anticancer drugs to shrink or kill cancerous cells and reduce cancer spreading to other parts of the body.
The goal of chemotherapy is to reduce the chance that the cancer will spread to other parts of your body. It is also used to kill cancer cells that may have already spread beyond the gallbladder. Chemotherapy is usually given in combination with surgery or radiation. When given with radiation, chemotherapy low doses may be used with the goal of making the local effects of the radiation stronger rather than as a systemic treatment. Chemotherapy may be given by itself if the cancer has spread beyond the gallbladder and cannot be completely removed by surgery.
Radiation therapy
The use of high-energy radiation to kill or shrink cancer cells, tumors, and non-cancerous diseases.
Surgery
The goal of surgery is to take out all or as much of the tumor as possible. It may be necessary to take out the gallbladder and nearby tissues. That may include some of the liver, the bile duct, and lymph nodes. Surgery may be done to ease symptoms and not necessarily to remove the whole tumor.
New treatments for gallbladder cancer
New ways to treat gallbladder cancer are being tested in clinical trials. Before beginning treatment, ask your doctor if there are any clinical trials you should consider.
INTERESTED IN AN ONLINE SECOND OPINION?
The Stanford Medicine Online Second Opinion program offers you easy access to our world-class doctors. It’s all done remotely and you don’t have to visit our hospital or one of our clinics for this service. You don’t even need to leave home!
Visit our online second opinion page to learn more.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but may open in the future.