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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
Diagnosis and Tests
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Alkaline Phosphatase
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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Bile Duct Cancer Diagnosis
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Bilirubin Blood Test
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
- How Is Bile Duct Cancer Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society)
- Understanding EUS (Endoscopic Ultrasonography) (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
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Bile Duct Cancer Causes and Risk Factors
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- Bile Duct (Cholangiocarcinoma) Cancer: Radiation Therapy (American Cancer Society)
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Bile Duct Cancer Treatment
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Surgery for Bile Duct (Cholangiocarcinoma) Cancer (American Cancer Society)
Living With
- What Happens After Treatment for Bile Duct Cancer? (American Cancer Society)
Related Issues
- Do We Know What Causes Bile Duct Cancer? (American Cancer Society)
- What Are the Risk Factors for Bile Duct Cancer? (American Cancer Society)
Specifics
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Bile Duct Cancer Stages
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Genetics
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Cholangiocarcinoma: MedlinePlus Genetics
(National Library of Medicine)
Statistics and Research
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Cancer Statistics: Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
- What Are the Key Statistics about Bile Duct Cancer? (American Cancer Society)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Bile Duct Neoplasms
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Cholangiocarcinoma
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Toripalimab combined with lenvatinib and GEMOX is a promising regimen as...
- Article: Clinical and biomarker analyses of sintilimab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin as...
- Article: In vivo detection of bile duct pre-cancer with endoscopic light scattering...
- Bile Duct Cancer -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- 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)
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National Cancer Institute
Also in Spanish
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
-
Organizations that Offer Cancer Support Services
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Biliary stricture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Cholangiocarcinoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- ERCP (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish