Gallbladder cancer is most often diagnosed late, which makes its prognosis often alarming. Most patients in whom the cancer has detected at an advanced stage will die within one year following the treatment. In the United States, the overall 5-year survival rate is estimated at 15-20%.
However, if cancer cells have not spread beyond the gallbladder wall, the prognosis is generally very good. Nearly 80 percent of patients with stage 1 gallbladder cancer live more than five years after the surgery.