Gallbladder cancer palliative treatment

Palliative therapy in gallbladder cancer involves percutaneous transhepatic radiologic catheter bypass or endoscopically placed stents, standard external-beam radiation therapy, palliative surgery or standard chemotherapy.

Palliative treatment options may include the following:

Percutaneous transhepatic radiologic catheter bypass

• The preferred approach to biliary obstruction is percutaneous transhepatic radiologic catheter bypass or endoscopically placed stents.^[1]

Standard external-beam radiation therapy

• Standard external-beam radiation therapy can, on occasion, alleviate biliary obstruction in some patients and may supplement bypass procedures.

Palliative surgery

• Palliative surgery may relieve bile duct obstruction and is warranted when symptoms produced by biliary blockade (pruritus, hepatic dysfunction, and cholangitis) outweigh other symptoms from the cancer.

Standard chemotherapy

• Standard chemotherapy is usually not effective, though occasional patients may be palliated.^[2]

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