Gall bladder cancer: Symptoms, Causes, Types and PET CT as diagnostic tool

Gall bladder cancer is the condition when cells of Gall bladder divide in an uncontrolled manner leading to the formation of tumors.  Gall bladder tumors begins from inner most layer called mucosal layer of the gall bladder. Gall bladder is the part of digestive system, which is used to produce and store bile. Bile is important component that helps in the digestion of food. Gall bladder stores and concentrated the bile produced from liver and use it to breakdown fat. Gall bladder cancer doesn’t show any symptoms until it spreads to other parts of the body. There are various tests which can be used for the detection of gall bladder cancer and these include liver function test, MRI, CT, PET CT, biopsy, laparoscopy etc.  PET CT is an effective test used for the detection of gall bladder cancer. The PET CT is the combination of PET and CT scan procedure. This helps to detect the abnormality at the cellular level and help to look for any anatomical change in the gall bladder. 

Gall bladder cancer

Gall bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of Gall bladder cells leading to the formation of tumors in Gall bladder.  This cancer begins from the inner mucosal layer of the gall bladder and shows no visible symptoms until it spreads to other parts of the body. If gall bladder cancer is detected early, it has the excellent treatment percentage. Surgery is usually proffered in the early stages of cancer. There is not any particular cause of the gall bladder cancer, but various risk factors which can lead to gall bladder cancer include genetics, gall bladder stones, gall polyps, chronic gall bladder infection, cysts in bile duct etc.

What are the different types of Gall bladder cancer?

There are various types of gall bladder cancers depend which type of cell is involved in the cancer. Various types of gall bladder cancers include:

• Adenocarcinoma
• Papillary adenocarcinoma
• Mucinous adenocarcinoma
• Non-papillary adenocarcinoma
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Adenosquamous carcinoma
• Small cell carcinoma (oat cell carcinoma)
• Sarcomas

What are the symptoms of Gall bladder cancer?

There are various symptoms which are related to gall bladder cancer. These symptoms include:

• Upper abdomen pain
• Lumps in abdomen
• Yellow skin and yellow eyes
• Unexplained weight loss
• Nausea and vomiting
• Bloating
• Fever

What are the causes of Gall bladder cancer?

There is not any specific cause of gall bladder cancer identified by researchers but there are various risk factors which can lead to the gall bladder cancer.

• Genetic mutations
• Hereditary from the parents
• Females more prone
• Over the age of 65
• History of gall stones
• Gall bladder polyps
• Chronic gall bladder inflammation
• Obesity
• Common cysts in bile ducts

What does PET CT scan detect in the Gall bladder cancer?

PET CT diagnostic tool can detect various types of condition in Gall bladder cancer and these include:

• Staging of gall bladder cancer
• Progression of gall bladder cancer
• Type of gall bladder cancer
• Early diagnosis of gall bladder disease
• Monitoring recurrence of gall bladder cancer
• Help in treatment planning for gall bladder cancer
• Response of treatment used for gall bladder cancer
• Help for biopsy samples locations

What are the different types of tests used for the detection of Gall bladder cancer other than PET CT scan?

There are various tests used for the detection of gall bladder cancer other than PET CT scan. These include:

• Laboratory Tests
• Liver function test
• Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)assay
• CA 19-9 assay
• Imaging tests
• CT scan
• MRI scan
• PET CT scan
• Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)
• Abdominal Ultrasound
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Surgeries
• Biopsy
• Laparoscopy

Conclusion

Gall bladder cancer is the condition of uncontrolled growth of cells in the gall bladder leading to the tumors. The cancer usually begins from inner mucosal layer of the gall bladder. Most of the gall bladder cancers are asymptomatic which makes it dangerous. There is not any specific cause know for the gall bladder cancer but various risk factors which can lead to this condition include genetic mutation, females, family history, gall stones, infection to gall bladder etc.  There are various symptoms which can be related to the gall bladder cancer and these are abdominal pain, yellow skin and eye color, lumps in abdomen, bloating, fever etc. The treatment rate of the gall bladder is excellent if it is detected at the early stage and surgery is usually preferred.  There are various tests like liver function test, CT, ultrasound, MRI, biopsies etc. are used for the detection of the condition but PET CT is preferred test. It provides the information at the earliest of the stages of cancer, which help in easy and effective treatment of the gall bladder cancer.