What is gallbladder 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.

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.

How common is gallbladder cancer?

Gallbladder cancer is rare. Around 1,100 people are diagnosed in the UK each year. It's more common in women than in men. 

Diagram showing the anatomy of the gallbladder
Diagram showing the position of the gallbladder and bile ducts

What does the gallbladder do?

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.

Lymph nodes near the gallbladder

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.

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.

  • Cancer Incidence from Cancer Intelligence Statistical Information Team at Cancer Research UK  (2016 - 2018 UK average) 
    Accessed August 2023

  • Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology (12th edition)
    VT DeVita, TS Lawrence, SA Rosenberg
    Wolters Kluwer, 2023

  • Biliary tract cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up
    A. Vogel and others
    Annals of Oncology, 2023. Volume 34, Issue 2, Pages 127-140

  • Cancer and its Management (7th edition)
    Tobias, J and Hochhauser, D
    Wiley Blackwell 2015

Last reviewed: 
14 Aug 2023
Next review due: 
14 Aug 2026

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