Gallbladder cancer risk

Preventable cases

Gallbladder cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

Caused by obesity

Gallbladder cancer cases caused by overweight and obesity, UK, 2015

 

The estimated lifetime risk of being diagnosed with gallbladder cancer is nearly 1 in 210 (less than 1%) for females, and 1 in 670 (less than 1%) for males born in 1961 in the UK. [1]

These figures have been calculated on the assumption that the possibility of having more than one diagnosis of gallbladder cancer over the course of a lifetime is very low ('Current Probability' method).[2]

See also

Lifetime risk for all cancers combined and cancers compared

Gallbladder cancer incidence statistics

How risk is calculated

Want to generate bespoke preventable cancers stats statements? Download our interactive statement generator.

References

  1. Lifetime risk estimates calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK 2023.
  2. Estève J, Benhamou E, Raymond L. Statistical methods in cancer research. Volume IV. Descriptive epidemiology. IARC Sci Publ. 1994;(128):1-302.

About this data

Data is for UK, past and projected cancer incidence and mortality and all-cause mortality rates for those born in 1961, ICD-10 C15.

Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, 2023 (as yet unpublished). Lifetime risk of being diagnosed with cancer for people in the UK born in 1961. Based on method from Esteve et al. 1994 [2], using projected cancer incidence (using data up to 2018) calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK and projected all-cause mortality (using data up to 2020, with adjustment for COVID impact) calculated by Office for National Statistics. Differences from previous analyses are attributable mainly toslowing pace of improvement in life expectancy, and also to slowing/stabilising increases in cancer incidence.

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20% of gallbladder cancer cases in the UK are preventable.[1]

Gallbladder cancer is associated with a number of risk factors.[2-4]

  Increases risk Decreases risk
'Sufficient' or 'convincing' evidence
  • Thorium-232 and its decay products
  • Body fatness [a]
  
'Limited' or 'Probable' evidence    
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) classifications.
 
a IARC classifies evidence on body fatness as sufficient, WCRF/AICR classifies evidence on body fatness as probable.

See also

Want to generate bespoke preventable cancers stats statements? Download our interactive statement generator.

Find out more about the definitions and evidence for this data

Learn how attributable risk is calculated

References

  1. Brown KF, Rumgay H, Dunlop C, et al. The fraction of cancer attributable to known risk factors in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the UK overall in 2015. British Journal of Cancer 2018. 
  2. International Agency for Research on Cancer. List of Classifications by cancer sites with sufficient or limited evidence in humans, Volumes 1 to 122*. Accessed September 2018.
  3. Lauby-Secretan B, Scoccianti C, Loomis D, et al. Body Fatness and Cancer--Viewpoint of the IARC Working Group. N Engl J Med. 2016 Aug 25;375(8):794-8.
  4. World Cancer Research Fund International/American Institute for Cancer Research. Continuous Update Project Findings & Reports. Accessed January 2017.
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International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) classify the role of this risk factor in cancer development.[1,2]

20% of gallbladder cancer cases in the UK are caused by overweight and obesity.[3]

Gallbladder cancer risk is 22-29% higher in women who are overweight (body mass index [BMI] 25-29.9), and 68-78% higher in women who are obese (BMI 30+), compared with those of a normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), meta-analyses have shown.[4-6] Gallbladder cancer risk is 43-54% higher in men who are obese, compared with those of a normal weight, meta-analyses have shown.[4-6] The association with overweight without obesity may be limited to females.[4-6]

UK portrait version shown here. Country versions, cancers caused by other risk factors, and landscape formats are available for free from our cancer risk publications.

See also

See IARC and WCRF's classifications on the role of this risk factor

Find out more about the definitions and evidence for this data

Learn how attributable risk is calculated

View our statistics on obesity and cancer

View our health information on obesity, weight and cancer

References

  1. Lauby-Secretan B, Scoccianti C, Loomis D, et al. Body Fatness and Cancer--Viewpoint of the IARC Working Group. N Engl J Med. 2016 Aug 25;375(8):794-8.
  2. World Cancer Research Fund International/American Institute for Cancer Research. Continuous Update Project Findings & Reports. Accessed January 2017.
  3. Brown KF, Rumgay H, Dunlop C, et al. The fraction of cancer attributable to known risk factors in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the UK overall in 2015. British Journal of Cancer 2018. 
  4. Li ZM, Wu ZX, Han B, et al. The association between BMI and gallbladder cancer risk: a meta-analysis. Oncotarget. 2016 Jul 12;7(28):43669-43679. 
  5. Liu H, Zhang Y, Ai M, et al. Body Mass Index Can Increase the Risk of Gallbladder Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of 14 Cohort Studies. Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2016 Nov 30;22:146-155.
  6. Xue K, Li FF, Chen YW, et al. Body mass index and the risk of cancer in women compared with men: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2017 Jan;26(1):94-105.
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International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies the role of this risk factor in cancer development.[1]

References

  1. International Agency for Research on Cancer. List of Classifications by cancer sites with sufficient or limited evidence in humans, Volumes 1 to 122*. Accessed September 2018. 
Last reviewed:

Gallbladder cancer risk is around five times as high in people with a family history of the disease, versus those without, a pooled analysis showed.[1]

References

  1. Randi G, Franceschi S, La Vecchia C. Gallbladder cancer worldwide: geographical distribution and risk factors. Int J Cancer. 2006 Apr 1;118(7):1591-602.
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Gallbladder cancer risk is 19% higher in current smokers, and 10% higher in former smokers, both compared with never-smokers, a meta-analysis showed.[1]

Gallbladder cancer risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, by 11% per 10 cigarettes per day, a meta-analysis showed.[1]

References

  1. Aune D, Vatten LJ, Boffetta P. Tobacco smoking and the risk of gallbladder disease. Eur J Epidemiol. 2016 Jul;31(7):643-53.
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Gallstones

Gallbladder cancer risk is around five times as high in people with a history of benign gallbladder diseases (mainly gallstones), versus those without, a pooled analysis showed.[1] A higher body mass index (BMI) may be associated with a higher risk of gallstone formation.[2]

Porcelain gallbladder

Gallbladder cancer risk is around eight times as high in people with calcification of the wall of the gallbladder (porcelain gallbladder), compared with the general population, a meta-analysis showed.[3]

Pancreaticobiliary maljunction

Gallbladder cancer risk is around seven times as high in people with pancreaticobiliary maljunction (an abnormality of the area where the bile duct joins with the pancreas), compared with those without, a meta-analysis of case-control studies showed.[4]

Gallbladder polyps

Around 8% of larger (10mm+) gallbladder polyps are malignant, a systematic review showed.[5] Around 4% of gallbladder polyps are 10mm+ in size.[5]

References

  1. Randi G, Franceschi S, La Vecchia C. Gallbladder cancer worldwide: geographical distribution and risk factors. Int J Cancer. 2006 Apr 1;118(7):1591-602.
  2. Maclure KM, Hayes KC, Colditz GA, et al. Weight, diet, and the risk of symptomatic gallstones in middle-aged women. N Engl J Med. 1989 Aug 31;321(9):563-9.
  3. Schnelldorfer T. Porcelain gallbladder: a benign process or concern for malignancy?. J Gastrointest Surg. 2013 Jun;17(6):1161-8.
  4. Deng YL, Cheng NS, Lin YX, et al. Relationship between pancreaticobiliary maljunction and gallbladder carcinoma: meta-analysis. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. 2011 Dec;10(6):570-80.
  5. Elmasry M, Lindop D, Dunne DF, et al. The risk of malignancy in ultrasound detected gallbladder polyps: A systematic review. Int J Surg. 2016 Sep;33 Pt A:28-35.
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Gallbladder cancer risk is 44-49% higher in people with type II diabetes compared with non-diabetics, meta-analyses have shown.[1-2]

References

  1. Gu J, Yan S, Wang B, et al. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and risk of gallbladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2016 Jan;32(1):63-72.
  2. Ren HB, Yu T, Liu C, et al. Diabetes mellitus and increased risk of biliary tract cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Jun;22(6):837-47.
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Gallbladder cancer risk is around 3 times higher in people who drink 50g+ (6+ units) of alcohol per day, compared with non- or occasional drinkers, a meta-analysis showed.[1]

References

  1. Bagnardi V, Rota M, Botteri E, et al. Alcohol consumption and site-specific cancer risk: a comprehensive dose-response meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2015 Feb 3;112(3):580-93.
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