Gallbladder Cancer: Statistics

Aprobado por la Junta Editorial de Cancer.Net, 08/2023

ON THIS PAGE: You will find information about the estimated number of people who will be diagnosed with gallbladder cancer each year. You will also read general information on surviving the disease. Remember, survival rates depend on several factors, and no 2 people with cancer are the same. Use the menu to see other pages.

Every person is different, with different factors influencing their risk of being diagnosed with this cancer and the chance of recovery after a diagnosis. It is important to talk with your doctor about any questions you have around the general statistics provided below and what they may mean for you individually. The original sources for these statistics are provided at the bottom of this page.

How many people are diagnosed with gallbladder cancer?

In 2023, an estimated 12,220 adults (5,750 men and 6,470 women) in the United States will be diagnosed with gallbladder and other biliary cancers. About 4 out of 10 are specifically gallbladder cancers. Worldwide, an estimated 115,949 people were diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in 2020.

It is estimated that 4,510 deaths (1,900 men and 2,610 women) from gallbladder and other biliary cancers will occur in the United States in 2023. In 2020, an estimated 84,695 people worldwide died from gallbladder cancer.

What is the survival rate for gallbladder cancer?

There are different types of statistics that can help doctors evaluate a person’s chance of recovery from gallbladder cancer. These are called survival statistics. A specific type of survival statistic is called the relative survival rate. It is often used to predict how having cancer may affect life expectancy. Relative survival rate looks at how likely people with gallbladder cancer are to survive for a certain amount of time after their initial diagnosis or start of treatment compared to the expected survival of similar people without this cancer.

Example: Here is an example to help explain what a relative survival rate means. Please note this is only an example and not specific to this type of cancer. Let’s assume that the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific type of cancer is 90%. “Percent” means how many out of 100. Imagine there are 1,000 people without cancer, and based on their age and other characteristics, you expect 900 of the 1,000 to be alive in 5 years. Also imagine there are another 1,000 people similar in age and other characteristics as the first 1,000, but they all have the specific type of cancer that has a 5-year survival rate of 90%. This means it is expected that 810 of the people with the specific cancer (90% of 900) will be alive in 5 years.

It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with gallbladder cancer are only an estimate. They cannot tell an individual person if cancer will or will not shorten their life. Instead, these statistics describe trends in groups of people previously diagnosed with the same disease, including specific stages of the disease.

The 5-year relative survival rate for gallbladder cancer in the United States is 19%.

The survival rates for gallbladder cancer vary based on several factors. These include the stage of cancer, a person’s age and general health, and how well the treatment plan works.

If the cancer is diagnosed and treated before it has spread outside the gallbladder, the 5-year relative survival rate is 66%. About 1 out of 5 gallbladder cancers are diagnosed at this localized stage. This is mainly because there is not an effective screening method for this disease, and it often grows without causing symptoms.

If the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year relative survival rate is 28%. If the cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year relative survival rate is 2%.

Experts measure relative survival rate statistics for gallbladder cancer every 5 years. This means the estimate may not reflect the results of advancements in how gallbladder cancer is diagnosed or treated from the last 5 years. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics.

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society's (ACS) publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2023; the ACS website; and the International Agency for Research on Cancer website. (All sources accessed February 2023.)

The next section in this guide is Medical Illustrations. It offers drawings of the gallbladder and biliary tract. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.