Adapted for the Canadian edition by Bryce R. Taylor, MD
Bile is manufactured in the liver and helps the body digest fats. The bile ducts course throughout the liver collecting bile, then travel beyond the liver to connect with the gall bladder and small intestines ( see diagram in Gall Bladder Cancer ). Bile duct cancers may, therefore, arise in many locations in and around the liver.
Bile duct cancer—also called cholangiocarcinoma—is a rare cancer, and the prognosis depends largely on where the tumor begins and how large it has grown by the time of diagnosis. The only definitive treatment is the complete surgical removal of the tumor, which is not often possible. If the cancer cannot be entirely removed, the principal goals of therapy become the relief of symptoms caused by the accumulation of bile, and relief from pain.
Types The vast majority of these tumors develop in glandular tissue within the bile duct (adenocarcinoma). Other tissue types include squamous carcinomas and sarcomas. The therapy for all types of bile duct cancer is the same, depending on the extent of the tumor at the time of diagnosis.
