Cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer of the bile duct 10-25-2022
The bile duct is affected by cholangiocarcinoma, a type of cancer. The tumor can spread to organs that are far away or close by. But most of the time, surgery can treat this type of cancer. To cure the disease, the doctor may take out part of the bile duct, part of the pancreas, or lymph nodes. A liver transplant could be done if surgery doesn't cure the disease. But it's important to remember that a liver transplant is not risk-free. Chemotherapy is a way to treat cholangiocarcinoma. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells by giving them drugs. This treatment can be put directly into the veins or used before a liver transplant. In addition to chemotherapy, radiation therapy targets the tumor with high-powered beams of energy. The radiation can come from an outside beam or from putting radioactive materials close to the cancer in the body. New treatments are being developed right now to treat cholangiocarcinoma. These treatments are aimed at certain things that are wrong with the cancer cells. Immunotherapy, which uses the body's immune system to fight off disease, may also be given to some patients. Immunotherapy works by stopping cancer cells from making a certain protein. This makes it hard for immune system cells to find cancer cells that are trying to hide. The symptoms and medical history of a patient are used to figure out if they have cholangiocarcinoma. Symptoms like jaundice or stomach pain are often the only signs. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma can also be found with X-rays and blood tests. In some cases, the only choice may be a full liver transplant. If surgery doesn't work, chemotherapy or radiation therapy may be used to help the patient feel better. Cholangiocarcinoma affects the bile ducts and is a rare type of liver cancer. Bile and digestive fluid travel from the liver to the small intestine through tubes called
bile ducts. Most of the time, the disease isn't found until it's too late. However, surgery can be used to treat it. Even though the outlook for cholangiocarcinoma is usually bad, new treatments are being developed that may help people live longer. In advanced cases, less than 25% of people are likely to live. If the cancer has spread past the bile ducts, the chance of living for five years drops to 2%. Researchers think that chronic inflammation in the bile ducts may be a risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma, but they don't know for sure. When there is inflammation, DNA changes, which could change how cells act. Most likely, these changes aren't passed down from one generation to the next. Instead, they probably happen during a person's life. People who have cancer of the bile duct can get chemotherapy, surgery, or targeted therapies. The goal of chemotherapy is to kill the tumor, while the goal of surgery is to make sure it doesn't come back. In the meantime, the patient may need to cut back on alcohol and certain viruses.