Treatment for gallbladder cancer

There are things you can do to help you feel more in control of your physical and mental health when preparing for treatment. In the hospital, preparing for treatment is also called prehabilitation or prehab.

Treatment for gallbladder cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, targeted cancer drugs and radiotherapy. Find out more about the different types of treatment you might have.

Surgery is the main treatment for gallbladder cancer. There are different types of operations to remove the gallbladder or control symptoms of the cancer.

Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. You might have it as part of your treatment for gallbladder cancer.

Immunotherapy can be given on its own or with other treatments, such as chemotherapy. You may have it as part of a clinical trial.

Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to treat cancer cells. You might have it after surgery or to control the symptoms of gallbladder cancer. 

You'll have follow up appointments and tests after treatment for 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).