Recent Blog Articles

Easy, delicious summer veggie meals will help stretch your food budget

Tracking viruses: The best clues may be in the sewer

Promising therapy if PSA rises after prostate cancer surgery

Should you try intermittent fasting for weight loss?

Why are you taking a multivitamin?

Could eating fish increase your risk of cancer?

Can music improve our health and quality of life?

Millions rely on wheelchairs for mobility, but repair delays are hurting users

Waist trainers: What happens when you uncinch?

Preventing C. diff in and out of the hospital
Gallbladder and bile duct cancer
What Is It?
The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped pouch that lies beneath the liver, in the upper abdomen. It stores bile. This fluid, produced by the liver, helps digest fat. The gallbladder releases bile into the small intestine through the bile duct. This thin tube connects the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. Cancer develops when abnormal cells in these structures multiply and grow rapidly.
Most gallbladder and bile duct cancers are adenocarcinomas—cancers of cells that line the glands and ducts. Bile duct adenocarcinoma forms from the mucus glands that line the duct. It can develop in any part of the bile duct.
To continue reading this article, you must log in.
Subscribe to Harvard Health Online for immediate access to health news and information from Harvard Medical School.
- Research health conditions
- Check your symptoms
- Prepare for a doctor's visit or test
- Find the best treatments and procedures for you
- Explore options for better nutrition and exercise
I'd like to receive access to Harvard Health Online for only $4.99 a month.
Sign Me UpAlready a member? Login ».
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
Free Healthbeat Signup
Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!