If gallbladder cancer spreads
Cancer cells can spread from the gallbladder to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.
Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your healthcare team plan your treatment and future care. If gallbladder cancer spreads, it can spread to the following:
- lymph nodes near the gallbladder
- bile ducts
- liver and the blood vessels of the liver
- pancreas
- small intestine – usually the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine)
- stomach
- colon
- lung
Gallbladder tumours can also spread, or seed, cancer cells throughout the abdomen.