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Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays (such as x-rays) or particles to destroy cancer cells. Doctors are researching the best way to use radiation therapy to treat gallbladder cancer. It might be used in one of these ways:
For gallbladder cancer, x-rays or particles are aimed at the cancer from outside the body. This is called external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).
Before your treatment starts, the radiation team will carefully determine the correct angles for aiming the radiation beams and the proper dose of radiation. The treatment is much like getting an x-ray, but the radiation is much stronger. The procedure itself is painless. Each treatment lasts only a few minutes, but the set-up time − getting you into place for treatment − usually takes longer. Radiation treatments most often are given 5 days a week for many weeks. These are some of the ways EBRT might be given:
Special computers precisely map the location of the tumor(s). Then radiation beams are tshaped and aimed at the tumor(s) from several directions, which makes it less likely to damage normal tissues.
This advanced form of 3D-CRT uses a computer-driven machine that moves around you as it delivers radiation. Along with shaping the beams and aiming them at the cancer from many angles, the intensity (strength) of the beams can be adjusted to limit the dose reaching the most sensitive normal tissues. This lets doctors deliver an even higher dose to the cancer.
Chemotherapy (chemo) is given along with EBRT to help it work better. This is the way radiation is most often used for gallbladder cancer. The main drawback of this approach is that the side effects tend to be worse than when radiation is given alone. Still, some studies have shown that giving chemoradiation after surgery may help patients live longer, especially those whose cancer had spread to lymph nodes.
Some common side effects of radiation therapy to treat gallbladder cancer include:
Side effects from radiation often start about a week into treatment and usually get better over time once treatment is over. Ask your doctor or nurse what side effects to expect and how you might prevent or relieve them.
To learn more about how radiation is used to treat cancer, see Radiation Therapy.
To learn about some of the side effects listed here and how to manage them, see Managing Cancer-related Side Effects.
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Abou-Alfa GK, Jarnagin W, Lowery M, D’Angelica M, Brown K, Ludwig E, et al Liver and bile duct cancer. In: Neiderhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA. Elsevier; 2014:1373-1395.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Biliary Tract Cancers. v.1.2025 - March 20, 2025. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/btc.pdf on April 17, 2025.
Ostwal V, Patkar S, Engineer R, Parulekar M, Mandavkar S, Bhargava P, et al. Adjuvant Gemcitabine Plus Cisplatin and Chemoradiation in Patients With Gallbladder Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2024 Aug 1;10(8):1116-1120. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.1944. PMID: 38958997; PMCID: PMC11223048.
Patel T, Borad MJ. Carcinoma of the biliary tree. In: DeVita VT, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, eds. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015:715-735.
Last Revised: May 16, 2025
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