Cholangiocarcinoma

Summary

Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile. Your gallbladder stores it between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder pushes the bile into tubes called bile ducts. They carry the bile to your small intestine. The bile helps break down fat. It also helps the liver get rid of toxins and wastes.

Bile duct cancer is rare. It can happen in the parts of the bile ducts that are outside or inside the liver. Cancer of the bile duct outside of the liver is much more common. Risk factors include having inflammation of the bile duct, ulcerative colitis, and some liver diseases.

Symptoms can include:

  • Jaundice
  • Itchy skin
  • Fever
  • Abdominal pain

Tests to diagnose bile duct cancer may include a physical exam, imaging tests of the liver and bile ducts, blood tests, and a biopsy.

Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
Information pulled from the Bile Duct Cancer page.
MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma)

American Society of Clinical Oncology

What Is Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma)?

National Cancer Institute

What Is Bile Duct Cancer?

American Cancer Society

Alkaline Phosphatase

National Library of Medicine

Bile Duct Cancer Diagnosis

National Cancer Institute

Bilirubin Blood Test

National Library of Medicine

ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Tests for Bile Duct Cancer

American Cancer Society

Understanding EUS (Endoscopic Ultrasonography)

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Bile Duct Cancer Treatment

National Cancer Institute

Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) - series

Medical Encyclopedia

Radiation Therapy for Bile Duct Cancer

American Cancer Society

Surgery for Bile Duct Cancer

American Cancer Society

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