Gall bladder cancer is usually in an advanced stage when it is diagnosed, requiring rapid treatment by a group of specialists. Although it is considered a rare disease, it is the fifth most common GI cancer in the United States. The Cancer Center at Creighton University Medical Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of gall bladder cancer.
In the United States:
- Highest incidence of disease among American Indians/Alaska Natives and among Hispanic people, especially Mexican
- Highest rates of gall bladder cancer among populations living in the western parts of the Andes and in North American Indians, Mexican Americans and inhabitants of northern India - these populations have a prevalence of gallstones and /or Salmonella infection. All of the Indigenous Indian populations of the Americas that have been studied have very high rates of incidence.
- Gall bladder cancer affects women significantly higher than men
- Most typically diagnosed in the seventh decade of life, with a median age of 62-66 years
- Cancer is much more common in Japan, India and Chile
- In the United States higher instances seen in California, New Mexico and Alaska
Our Expertise
- Our surgical oncologists, oncologists and surgeons are nationally and internationally recognized for their work in developing treatment options for rare cancers
- Dr. Loggie is one of the only physicians in the region to offer Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (HIPEC)
- We specialize in the treatment of rare abdominal cancers, including cancers of the appendix (including pseudomyxoma peritonei), lining surface (malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, peritoneal carcinomatosis), liver and pancreas
- Patients travel from nearly every state in the U.S. and around the world to see our specialists
SymptomsGenerally gall bladder cancer does not cause symptoms, however, it can sometimes cause pain in the right upper abdomen by the stomach, nausea, vomiting, weakness, jaundice, poor appetite, fever and chills and weight loss.
- Gallstones and chronic inflammation are the key pathogenic events leading to GBC
- Multiple infections with Salmonella
- Genetic predisposition
- Female gender
- Congenital abnormality
Risk Factors
- Gall Stones
- Chronic Inflammation
- Congenital Abnormalities
- Female Gender
- Race
- Repeated Salmonella Infections
- Genetic Component