Hi doctor, My mother is diagnosed with gallbladder cancer. I would like to know the stage, chances of survival and the life expectancy.
Hi. I have gone through the images (attachment removed to protect patient identity). The imaging is clearly showing a gallbladder tumor. There are different types of gallbladder tumors and the prognosis, outcome, and survival is different from one person to other. Here we do not know yet which type of gallbladder tumor it is. That will be known only after surgical removal of the tumor or after a surgical biopsy from the tumor. The PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) is showing tumor is free from distant metastasis (spread). It looks stage-3 radiologically. But actual staging will be known after surgery (pathological staging). The most common type of gallbladder tumor is adenocarcinoma and the prognosis for adenocarcinoma gallbladder is usually poor except in early stages. It is usually a chemoresistant tumor. The only curative treatment in these tumors is radical surgery (removal of the tumor along with gallbladder) if technically feasible. So, it is necessary to have a tissue confirmation of the diagnosis before commenting on survival and prognosis and actual staging. Revert with more information to a medical oncologist online -->