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Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon cancer, with an incidence of fewer than 2 cases per 100,000 people per year in the United States. [7] It is particularly common in central and South America, central and eastern Europe, Japan and northern India; it is also common in certain ethnic groups e.g. Native American Indians and Hispanics. [8]
Gallstones are thought to be linked to the formation of cancer. Other risk factors include large (>1 cm) gallbladder polyps and having a highly calcified "porcelain" gallbladder. [21] Cancer of the gallbladder can cause attacks of biliary pain, yellowing of the skin , and weight loss. A large gallbladder may be able to be felt in the abdomen.
Cancers of the gallbladder are typically adenocarcinomas, and are common in elderly women. Gallbladder cancer is strongly associated with gallstones, a porcelain gallbladder appearance on ultrasound, and the presence of polyps within the gallbladder. Gallbladder cancer may manifest with weight loss, jaundice, and pain in the upper right of.
Exceptions to Courvoisier's law imply that a stone is responsible for jaundice and a non-tender, palpable gall bladder. Typically gall bladder stones form slowly which allow time for the gall bladder to become tender. The exceptions to the law are stones that dislodge and acutely block the duct distally to the hepatic/cystic duct junction:
Gallbladder diseases are diseases involving the gallbladder and is closely linked to biliary disease, with the most common cause being gallstones (cholelithiasis). [1] [2]The gallbladder is designed to aid in the digestion of fats by concentrating and storing the bile made in the liver and transferring it through the biliary tract to the digestive system through bile ducts that connect the ...
The assertion that porcelain gallbladder increases the incidence of gallbladder cancer is widely taught in medical schools but is based on studies from 1931 and 1962. [1] A prominent study aid for surgical residents even states that the risk of cancer in a porcelain gallbladder is 15%. [2]
The gallbladder can also be removed in order to treat biliary dyskinesia or gallbladder cancer. [7] Gallstones are very common but 50–80% of people with gallstones are asymptomatic and do not need surgery; their stones are noticed incidentally on imaging tests of the abdomen (such as ultrasound or CT) done for some other reason. [8]
Other biliary tract cancers include gallbladder cancer and cancer of the ampulla of Vater. [7] Risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma include primary sclerosing cholangitis (an inflammatory disease of the bile ducts), ulcerative colitis, cirrhosis, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, infection with certain liver flukes, and some congenital liver malformations.