Cholelithiasis, if left untreated, can lead to gallbladder cancer

If diagnosed early, gallbladder disease can be a relatively simple condition. However, if diagnosed late, it can lead to severe complications, such as sepsis or even gallbladder cancer.

The most common condition is cholelithiasis, caused by stones called gallstones that form in the gallbladder, the bile storage organ.

The gallbladder is located below the liver. It concentrates and stores bile and releases it into the duodenum to help digest and absorb fats. However, various factors, including advanced age, obesity, pregnancy, use of oral contraceptives, prolonged fasting, severe dieting, and metabolic diseases, can cause the ratio of bile components to change, causing bile to clump together and form gallstones.

If gallstones cause inflammation of the gallbladder lining, a condition called cholecystitis can occur. Cholecystitis can cause many symptoms, including pain in the right flank or upper right abdomen, high fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting.

It's essential to diagnose and treat cholecystitis quickly, as even mild cases without severe pain can lead to sepsis and hospitalization in the intensive care unit.

Once diagnosed through tests, including abdominal ultrasound or computed tomography (CT), cholecystitis is treated with antibiotics, fasting, and fluids to reduce inflammation, followed by surgical cholecystectomy.

If cholecystitis is left untreated, it can recur in the future even if it is relieved, so cholecystectomy is usually performed once it is diagnosed. Advances in surgery have made it possible to remove the gallbladder through laparoscopic and robotic surgery, which is less painful, less scarring, and less bleeding.

Gallbladder cancer, a tumor that develops in the gallbladder, is the eighth leading cause of cancer in Korea and has a poor prognosis with a five-year survival rate of 26.7 percent. However, active treatment and management of conditions that can cause inflammation of the gallbladder can prevent gallbladder cancer.

The main risk factors for gallbladder cancer include cholelithiasis, abnormalities of the pancreaticobiliary duct, and calcified gallbladder. However, gallbladder cancer often causes no symptoms. It is usually detected at an advanced stage because the gallbladder wall is very thin (1 to 2 millimeters), making it easy for the cancer to spread to surrounding organs.

Depending on the degree of infiltration of the gallbladder wall, surgery ranges from simple cholecystectomy to gallbladder, liver resection, and lymph node drainage, and chemotherapy may also be required. The survival rate of gallbladder cancer is highly dependent on when it is detected, so it is crucial to detect it early through medical examinations.

Most cases of operable gallbladder cancer are detected by chance, often without symptoms. Even when non-specific symptoms, including abdominal bloating and digestive problems, occur, it is necessary to actively check for the disease.

Professor Shin Il-sang of the Department of Gastroenterology at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Bucheon suggests lifestyle management and active medical checkups to prevent various gallbladder diseases

First, Shin recommended maintaining a balanced and healthy diet, including a Korean diet with three to four side dishes, fiber-rich vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, and unsaturated fats.

He also recommended avoiding caffeine, soda, fatty meats, and fried foods and avoiding irregular eating habits such as binge drinking and binge eating.

“In addition to lifestyle modification, it is necessary to make efforts to detect gallbladder disease early through medical examinations to check one's health status, and it is important to seek medical attention and tests to detect and treat digestive system abnormalities, such as simple abdominal bloating or digestive disorders,” Professor Shin said.