Reviewed By:
Robin Schoenthaler, MD (Oncology)
Board certified radiation oncologist with over 30 years experience treating cancer patients. Senior physician advisor for expert medical options in adult oncology. Published award-winning essayist on medical and health issues and more.
Aiko Yoshioka, MD (Gastroenterology)
Dr. Yoshioka graduated from the Niigata University School of Medicine. He worked as a gastroenterologist at Saiseikai Niigata Hospital and Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital before serving as the Deputy Chief of Gastroenterology at Tsubame Rosai Hospital and Nagaoka Red Cross Hospital. Dr. Yoshioka joined Saitama Saiseikai Kawaguchi General Hospital as Chief of Gastroenterology in April 2018.
Content updated on Mar 31, 2024
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Fatigued
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Cancer of the bile ducts is also known as "cholangiocarcinoma." It is a cancer that arises in the bile ducts inside the liver or in the ducts that connect the liver to the gall bladder and intestines. Risk factors include genetic conditions, a condition called primary sclerosing cholangitis, chronic liver disease, infection with liver worms (flukes), smoking, diabetes, and age >50. Patients often come to their physicians with abdominal pain, jaundice (yellow skin and eyeballs), itchiness, and weight loss.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
This cancer is treated by a team of of oncologists including surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. A biopsy is usually performed to confirm the diagnosis. The treatment choices depend on stage, location, and other factors which are revealed by ultrasounds, CT scans, special scans and procedures, and MRIs. Treatments may include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and various kinds of radiation therapy. Surgery is used less often. If larger bile ducts are blocked by tumor, temporary or permanent stents (tubes) may be inserted to bypass the blockage.
Valle JW, Kelley RK, Nervi B, Oh DY, Zhu AX. Biliary tract cancer. Lancet. 2021 Jan 30;397(10272):428-444. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00153-7. PMID: 33516341.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00153-7/fulltextBridgewater JA, Goodman KA, Kalyan A, Mulcahy MF. Biliary Tract Cancer: Epidemiology, Radiotherapy, and Molecular Profiling. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2016;35:e194-203. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_160831. PMID: 27249723.
https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/EDBK_160831Rizzo A, Ricci AD, Brandi G. Recent advances of immunotherapy for biliary tract cancer. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 May;15(5):527-536. doi: 10.1080/17474124.2021.1853527. Epub 2021 Jan 8. PMID: 33215952.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17474124.2021.1853527Nara S, Esaki M, Ban D, Takamoto T, Shimada K, Ioka T, Okusaka T, Ishii H, Furuse J. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for biliary tract cancer: a review of clinical trials. Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2020 Dec 16;50(12):1353-1363. doi: 10.1093/jjco/hyaa170. PMID: 33037430.
https://academic.oup.com/jjco/article/50/12/1353/5919787Lamarca A, Barriuso J, McNamara MG, Valle JW. Molecular targeted therapies: Ready for "prime time" in biliary tract cancer. J Hepatol. 2020 Jul;73(1):170-185. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2020.03.007. Epub 2020 Mar 12. PMID: 32171892.
https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(20)30165-3/fulltextMale, 30s
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Reviewed By:
Robin Schoenthaler, MD (Oncology)
Board certified radiation oncologist with over 30 years experience treating cancer patients. Senior physician advisor for expert medical options in adult oncology. Published award-winning essayist on medical and health issues and more.
Aiko Yoshioka, MD (Gastroenterology)
Dr. Yoshioka graduated from the Niigata University School of Medicine. He worked as a gastroenterologist at Saiseikai Niigata Hospital and Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital before serving as the Deputy Chief of Gastroenterology at Tsubame Rosai Hospital and Nagaoka Red Cross Hospital. Dr. Yoshioka joined Saitama Saiseikai Kawaguchi General Hospital as Chief of Gastroenterology in April 2018.
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