Types of treatment and prevention

Once the diagnosis is confirmed and the patient’s health is assessed, it’s crucial to begin treating the tumour promptly. The best chance for complete removal of the disease is during the early stages. As metastases develop, the chances of a cure diminish. Surgical intervention is only feasible in the early stages when the tumour has not spread extensively to healthy tissue.
Treatment options include cholecystectomy or more advanced surgical procedures. After removing the tumour, chemotherapy or, less commonly, brachytherapy is typically recommended (Lamarca et al., 2022).
Other types of treatment may include radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy plays a vital role, either as adjuvant therapy to eliminate remaining cancer cells post-surgery, neoadjuvant therapy to shrink tumours before surgery, or palliative chemotherapy.

Radiation therapy, another option, employs high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells and can be used after surgery to prevent recurrence, or as palliative care to relieve symptoms like pain or blockages.

Targeted therapy and immunotherapy represent more specialised approaches. Targeted therapy focuses on attacking specific molecular pathways in cancer cells, often used for tumors with identifiable genetic markers. Immunotherapy boosts the immune system’s ability to combat cancer and is being explored in clinical trials for gallbladder cancer, particularly for cases resistant to conventional treatments.