The short answer
Bile duct cancer, also called cholangiocarcinoma, is a rare cancer of the thin tubes that carry bile from the liver to the intestine. A common early sign is jaundice (yellowing) when a duct becomes blocked. Treatment depends on location and stage and may include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) is rare.
It starts in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the intestine.
Jaundice from a blocked duct is a common early sign.
Certain chronic liver and bile duct conditions raise risk.
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The full explanation.
What bile duct cancer is
Bile ducts are thin tubes that carry bile — a digestive fluid — from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. Bile duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma, starts in these ducts. It is rare and is grouped by where it occurs: inside the liver (intrahepatic) or outside it (extrahepatic), which affects symptoms and treatment.
Symptoms
A common early sign is jaundice — yellowing of the skin and eyes — which happens when a tumor blocks a bile duct and bile backs up. Other symptoms include itching, pale stools, dark urine, belly pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss. These can have many causes, but jaundice always needs prompt evaluation.
Risk factors
Most people with bile duct cancer have no clear cause, but certain long-term conditions raise risk, including chronic inflammation of the bile ducts (such as primary sclerosing cholangitis), some liver diseases, bile duct cysts, and, in some parts of the world, certain parasitic infections. Risk rises with age.
Diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis involves imaging, blood tests, and often a biopsy or specialized procedures to look at the ducts. Treatment depends on the location and stage and may include surgery when the cancer can be removed, chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy for certain gene changes. Care at an experienced center, and consideration of clinical trials, can be valuable.
Words to know
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Common questions
▸What is cholangiocarcinoma?
Another name for bile duct cancer — a rare cancer of the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the intestine.
▸What is a common early sign?
Jaundice — yellowing of the skin and eyes — which occurs when a tumor blocks a bile duct. Jaundice always needs prompt evaluation.
▸What raises the risk?
Chronic bile duct inflammation, some liver diseases, bile duct cysts, and certain infections in some regions. Most cases have no clear cause.
▸How is it treated?
Depending on location and stage: surgery when removable, plus chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy for certain gene changes.
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