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By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that can increase the risk of gallbladder cancer include:
- Your sex. Gallbladder cancer is more common in women than it is in men.
- Your age. Your risk of gallbladder cancer increases as you age.
- A history of gallstones. Gallbladder cancer is most common in people who have had gallstones in the past. Still, gallbladder cancer is very rare in these people.
- Other gallbladder diseases and conditions. Other gallbladder conditions that can increase the risk of gallbladder cancer include porcelain gallbladder, choledochal cyst and chronic gallbladder infection.
References
- General information about gallbladder cancer. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/gallbladder/patient. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008:1580.
- Lillemoe KD. Tumors of the gallbladder, bile ducts and ampulla. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/140200591-2/0/1389/0.html. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- Questions to ask the doctor. Cancer.Net. http://www.cancer.net/patient/Cancer+Types/Gallbladder+Cancer. Accessed June 2, 2009.
- Hepatobiliary cancer. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/hepatobiliary.pdf. Accessed May 28, 2009.