What Is Cancer Of The Bile Duct – One of the liver’s many functions is to produce and transport bile. Bile is a fluid needed to break down food during digestion. The small tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder to the intestines are “ducts”. Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) is the formation of malignant (cancerous) tumors in the tubes or ducts.

Cancers of the biliary tract are characterized by their location in the system; proximally intrahepatic and distally extrahepatic. There are two types of bile duct cancer, intrahepatic bile duct cancer and extrahepatic bile duct cancer.

What Is Cancer Of The Bile Duct

A risk factor is anything that can cause a disease. Having risk factors does not mean you will develop the disease. Likewise, not having any of the known risk factors doesn’t mean you can’t develop the disease. Most often, bile duct cancer occurs in a safe manner. However, known risk factors may include:

What Are The Symptoms Of Bile Duct Cancer?

If you have certain risk factors or a family history of these risks, it is important to consult your doctor.

Tests and procedures to detect, diagnose, and stage bile duct cancer are usually done at the same time. a process used to determine the spread to distant parts.

There are some factors to consider when discussing treatment options. These include the location of the cancer, whether it has spread to other organs, whether the cancer can be removed completely with surgery, and other health issues.

Clinical trials are research studies that test how well new medical approaches work in people. Before an experimental treatment for cholangiocarcinoma can be tested in humans in a clinical trial, it must first have shown benefit in laboratory tests or animal studies. Only the most promising treatments are put into clinical trials to identify new ways to safely and effectively prevent, diagnose, or treat disease.

Bile Duct Cancer Treated At Scmsc

The following websites contain information about clinical trials. Always consult your doctor before enrolling in a clinical trial:

Join Memorial Sloan Kettering’s team of liver cancer experts in a 1-hour on-demand webinar on new and emerging treatments for liver cancer. You will better understand how these treatments work and which patients will benefit most from which treatments. Learn about strategies to help with treatment-related side effects. Learn how to become an advocate for good care and access support resources. Health Information » Bile Tract Cancer | Cholangiocarcinoma – Causes, Risk Factors, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Stages, Treatment, Support Groups

Bile duct cancer is called cholangiocarcinoma. It originates from within the liver (intrahepatic cancer), where the bile ducts exit the liver (perihilar cancer), or outside the liver (extrahepatic cancer). Perihilar cancer is the most common of the three.

The liver secretes a juice called bile that helps digest fats in food. Bile travels through a network of ducts called bile ducts. These ducts begin in the liver, where small tubules join to form larger ducts.

Gallbladder And Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month Vector Image

They leave the liver as two main branches, the left and right hepatic ducts. These branches join to form the common hepatic duct outside the liver. The common hepatic duct in turn joins with the cystic duct from the gallbladder to form the common bile duct. The common bile duct ends in the first part of the intestine called the duodenum.

The exact cause of bile duct cancer is not known. Some people have a higher risk of this cancer. These include:

Early diagnosis is important to prevent biliary tract cancer from progressing to late stages. Tests used to diagnose bile duct cancer

The patient must undergo blood tests called liver function tests. They may be abnormal in a patient with bile duct cancer.

Gallbladder/bile Duct Cancer

The level of certain proteins in the blood (CEA and CA 19-9) that can indicate the presence of this type of cancer may also increase. These chemicals are called tumor markers, and elevated levels indicate cancer. However, their levels can also be increased in some other cancers or in some inflammatory conditions.

After the diagnosis of bile duct cancer, it is carried out in stages to select the treatment and evaluate the outcome of the disease. According to the American Joint Committee on Cancer, staging is performed for intrahepatic and extrahepatic cancers. Extrahepatic cancer is further divided into extrahepatic perihilar or distal extrahepatic.

Surgical treatment – a part of the liver may be removed along with the cancer, especially in cases of intrahepatic cancer. This may mean a partial hepatectomy. A more extensive procedure called a Whipple procedure or pancreaticoduodenectomy is performed to remove the cancer and the distal bile duct with nearby lymph nodes.

Advanced Cancer – If the cancer is widespread and surgery is not possible, radiation and/or chemotherapy is used.

Adenosquamous Carcinoma Of The Distal Common Bile Duct: A Case Of A Rare Type Of Cholangiocarcinoma

Radiation may be used additionally before or after surgery, especially in severe cases. However, the usefulness of radiation is questionable.

These drugs work against cancer cells and help reduce the risk of cancer after surgery. It also shrinks the tumor and relieves the symptoms of bile duct cancer.

A patient may be treated with surgery to relieve symptoms due to biliary obstruction. In cases where the tumor is inoperable, a stent can be placed for drainage of bile. In rare cases, a liver transplant is an option.

Extrahepatic tumors generally have a better prognosis than intrahepatic tumors, especially when reported early. Symptoms develop in late stages in patients with intrahepatic tumors, so treatment in this group is often delayed.

Purely Laparoscopic Extended Right Hemihepatectomy For Hcc With Bile Duct Tumor Thrombus From The Sages Video Library

A cancer diagnosis can be emotionally distressing. There are a number of organizations called support groups that help patients with cancer diagnosis and treatment. Support groups include other patients with similar diagnoses. It is a forum where patients can share their experiences with the people who can best understand their condition. Most of them are available on the Internet and are often anonymous. Some of them are listed below:

Adheres to strict ethical publishing standards to ensure accurate, relevant and current health content. We source our material from reputable sources such as peer-reviewed journals, academic institutions, research bodies, medical associations and occasionally non-profit organisations. We welcome and value listener feedback as part of our commitment to health literacy and informed decision-making. Cha JM, Kim M, Jang SJ. Early cancer of the biliary tract. World J Gastroenterol 2007 Jul 7; 13(25): 3409-3416Gore RM and Shelhamer RP. Biliary tract neoplasms: diagnosis and staging. Cancer Imaging (2007) 7, S15-S23Nguyen K, Singh Jr. JT. Review of endoscopic techniques in the diagnosis and treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2008 May 21; 14(19): 2995-2999Ustundag Y, Bayraktar Y. Cholangiocarcinoma: A concise review of the literature. World J Gastroenterol 2008 Nov 14; 14(42):6458-6466Aljiffry M, Walsh MJ, Molinari M. Advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and palliation of cholangiocarcinoma: 1990-2009. World J Gastroenterol 2009 Sep 14; 15(34): 4240-4262 Bile Duct Cancer Staging – (http://www.cancer.org/cancer/bileductcancer/detailedguide/bile-duct-cancer-staging)

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What Is Cancer Of The Bile Duct, Or Cholangiocarcinoma, All About?

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Carcinoma of the bile ducts (cholangiocarcinoma) is cancer of the bile ducts, the tubes that connect the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. The function of the bile ducts is to transport bile from the liver and gallbladder to small …

Bile duct cancer occurs within the liver or bile ducts outside the liver or liver.

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