Bile Duct Cancer

Bile duct cancer is cancer that affects the bile ducts that are in and around the liver. It is the job of bile ducts to collect bile that is made by the liver and send it to the gall bladder to be stored. This bile helps the body digest fats so when you eat a meal that contains fat the gall bladder will then release the bile into the small intestine where it can then properly digest the fat. No one knows yet what causes Bile duct cancer but researchers are finding several risk factors that seem to be associated with an increased risk of developing this cancer. The link seems to be with anything that can irritate or inflame the bile duct, such as bile duct stones, ulcerative colitis and parasitic infestations. Bile duct cancer is very rare, only affecting about 16,000 people nationwide each year.

This cancer appears in and around the liver and can be very difficult and often impossible to remove which is currently the primary treatment for this type of cancer. For those whose cancer cannot be removed if the cancer has not moved beyond the liver then a liver transplant may in fact be the best option. Bile duct cancer produces few symptoms in its early stages with the primary symptom being jaundice. Other symptoms include loss of appetite, weight loss, clay-colored stools, itching, fever and abdominal or back pain. Although the tumors are slow to grow and spread, often times because of a lack of symptoms this cancer is not diagnosed until it is in late stages.

There are different types of Bile duct cancer with the Klatskin and Hilar tumors being most common. These types of Bile duct cancer are located where the left and right hepactic bile ducts meet whereas the other tumor the intrahepatic bile duct tumor does not block the main bile ducts. Treatment options for Bile duct cancer vary depending on how advanced the cancer is, the size of the tumor and where the cancer has spread. Surgery to remove the tumor is the preferred options but since these tumors are often advanced at discovery and removal is difficult this option is often not available. Liver transplants are an option for those, whose cancer has not spread past the liver, and then the other options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy but these have not been shown to be effective in curing the cancer only to relieve symptoms and maintain quality of life. Other treatments include biliary drainage that alleviates the accumulation of bile from the bile ducts and helps to relieve the pain that is associated with blockage of the bile ducts from the tumors. This cancer is very difficult to treat and without an operable tumor or transplant the survival rates are not very good at this time. There are research institutes such as the Corigroup that are conducting research on Bile duct cancer as well as other types of cancer in the search for treatments that are effective.