DataGallbladder cancer

Direct links plus the targets, companies, and technologies of this cancer's products.

• Patients and carers ask: my gallbladder was removed for stones and the report says cancer, what now? It depends on how deep the tumour went. Tis and T1a tumours confined to the lining and the layer beneath are treated by the operation already done. T1b or deeper tumours are referred to a liver and bile duct (hepatobiliary) centre for a second operation, ideally 4 to 8 weeks after the first, after new scans (Soreide 2019; Ethun 2017).
• Is gallbladder cancer the same as bile duct cancer? They are grouped together as biliary tract cancers and share the same chemotherapy trials, but the gallbladder is a separate organ with its own staging, its own causes (gallstones rather than liver disease) and a different mix of gene changes (CRUK, what is gallbladder cancer; Roa 2022).
• I have gallstones, will I get it? Gallstones raise the risk about five-fold, but gallbladder cancer is very rare and the great majority of people with stones never develop it (CRUK risks and causes).
• Should my polyp be removed? The European guideline says yes at 10 mm or more, yes at 6 to 9 mm with a risk factor (age over 60, primary sclerosing cholangitis, Asian ethnicity, a sessile polyp or wall thickening over 4 mm), and otherwise ultrasound checks at 6, 12 and 24 months; polyps of 5 mm or less with no risk factor need no follow-up (Foley 2022).
• I have a porcelain gallbladder, must it come out? The link with cancer is weaker than older textbooks said: about 6 percent in unbiased studies versus 1 percent in controls, and one cohort observed 90 people for three years without a cancer. Many surgeons still offer removal to fit patients; the decision is individual (Schnelldorfer 2013; DesJardins 2018; CRUK).
• Is there a screening test? No. There is no UK screening programme because no test finds it reliably early (CRUK screening page).
• Why was it found so late, or at A and E? Symptoms are vague until the tumour blocks the bile duct or forms a mass, and half of English cases are diagnosed after an emergency presentation (NHS; CRUK).
• Does it run in families? A family history raises risk about five-fold, and common inherited variants near the bile transporter genes ABCB1 and ABCB4 were found in India, but no single gene test is used and the absolute risk stays small (CRUK; Mhatre 2017).
• Which symptoms need urgent attention? Yellow eyes or skin, or being sick for more than two days: ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111 the same day (NHS symptoms page).
• What do T2a and T2b mean on my report? Both mean the tumour has grown through the muscle layer but is still inside the gallbladder. T2a is on the free (peritoneal) side; T2b is on the side against the liver, which spreads more often, so the surgeon removes more liver tissue (CRUK stages page; Shindoh 2015).
• Frequencies marked cBioPortal were computed from the public API on the named study id on 24 September 2026 as sample-level counts (mutation, high-level amplification or deep deletion) over the study's sequenced or copy-number sample list; they are not the paper's own per-patient percentages, which are quoted alongside where the abstract gives them.

The same record for scripts and assistants; checked 2026-09-24. Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute “Data from OnCo (onco.cc)”.