Treatment Options for Gallbladder Cancer

Localized Gallbladder Cancer
Unresectable, Recurrent, or Metastatic Gallbladder Cancer

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Treatment of localized gallbladder cancer may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the gallbladder and some of the tissue around it. Part of the liver and nearby lymph nodes may also be removed. Radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy may follow surgery.
• Radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of radiation therapy with radiosensitizers.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with localized gallbladder cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of unresectable, recurrent, or metastatic gallbladder cancer is usually within a clinical trial. Treatment may include the following:

• Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage or the placement of stents to relieve symptoms caused by blocked bile ducts. This may be followed by radiation therapy as palliative treatment.
• Surgery as palliative treatment to relieve symptoms caused by blocked bile ducts.
• Chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of new ways to give palliative radiation therapy, such as giving it together with hyperthermia therapy, radiosensitizers, or chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of new drugs and drug combinations.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with unresectable gallbladder cancer, recurrent gallbladder cancer and metastatic gallbladder cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.