 Possible locations of Bile Duct Cancer. A: Upper third of the bile duct also known as Klatskin Tumor or a Hilar Cancer. B: Middle third of the common bile duct. C: Lower third within the head of the pancreas |
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What is Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma)?
Bile duct cancer also known as cholangiocarcinoma is cancerous transformation of the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the duodenum. Cancer of the bile duct is very rare and often occurs in older patients. Approximately 2,000 cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. The patient usually presents with jaundice, clay-colored stools, itching, fever, chills and rigors, loss of appetite, weight loss or abdominal and back pain as a consequence of the obstruction of these bile ducts. These are indolent tumors and often grow slowly and spread gradually. The bile ducts are in close proximity to some of the main blood vessels going into the liver. These include the main vessels such as the hepatic arteries and the portal vein. If these structures are involved it becomes difficult to clear the tumor and therefore deemed locally advanced. It is imperative to have these cancers treated at specialized centers such as ours, where the disease can be mapped with specialized interventional procedures and then adequately treated with either definitive surgical therapy or multimodality therapy, as deemed appropriate.
What is a Klatskin tumor?
Klatskin tumors are the most common bile duct cancers and are located at the junction of the right and left hepatic bile ducts (Location A as seen in the figure). The main therapy is surgical resection to clear margins. This surgery is best performed by specialized surgeons as these cancers need to be cleared off the major blood vessels to the liver. The reconstruction of the bile ducts is performed with a loop of intestine (Roux-en-Y procedure).
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