Bile Duct Cancer

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

National Cancer Institute

Encyclopedia

• Abdominal MRI scan Medical Encyclopedia
• Biopsy – biliary tract Medical Encyclopedia
• Fecal fat Medical Encyclopedia
• Gallbladder radionuclide scan Medical Encyclopedia
• Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram Medical Encyclopedia

Statistics and Research

• Advances in Liver and Bile Duct Cancer Research National Cancer Institute
• Cancer Statistics: Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer National Cancer Institute
• Key Statistics for Bile Duct Cancer American Cancer Society

Diagnosis and Tests

• 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

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society American Cancer Society
• ASGE: Find a Doctor American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
• Find a Cancer Doctor American Society of Clinical Oncology
• Find a Gastroenterologist American College of Gastroenterology
• National Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Organizations that Offer Cancer Support Services National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• 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

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Bile Duct Cancer Causes and Risk Factors National Cancer Institute

Specifics

• Bile Duct Cancer Stages National Cancer Institute

Treatments and Therapies

• Bile Duct Cancer Treatment National Cancer Institute
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia
• Radiation Therapy for Bile Duct Cancer American Cancer Society
• Surgery for Bile Duct Cancer American Cancer Society

Related Issues

• Bile Duct Risk Factors American Cancer Society
• What Causes Bile Duct Cancer? American Cancer Society

Patient Handouts

• Bile duct stricture Medical Encyclopedia
• Cholangiocarcinoma Medical Encyclopedia
• ERCP Medical Encyclopedia

Genetics

• Cholangiocarcinoma: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bile Duct Neoplasms National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cholangiocarcinoma National Institutes of Health

Living With

• Living as a Bile Duct Cancer Survivor American Cancer Society

Journal Articles

• Bile Duct Cancer