Is bile duct cancer serious?

Is bile duct cancer serious? This is a question that many patients are particularly concerned about. Biliary duct cancer is a malignant tumor and it is very harmful to patients. Therefore, once you find it, you must go to a regular hospital for active treatment. Let us introduce you to the relevant knowledge about bile duct cancer.

Cholangiocarcinoma refers to a malignant tumor originating from the extrahepatic bile duct, including the bile duct from the hilar area to the lower end of the common bile duct. Its cause may be related to diseases such as bile duct stones and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Clinically, it can be treated with surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other methods, but the prognosis is poor.

There is a close relationship between bile duct cancer and hepatolithiasis. In areas where hepatolithiasis is common, the pathological change rate of bile duct cancer is also increased. The reason may be that the chronic stimulation of gallstones and inflammation causes the bile duct epithelium to rot, ulcerate and fall off, and the epithelial cancer cells proliferate, resulting in bile duct cancer cells. In addition, the blockage caused by gallstones and the poor bile discharge, and the increase of bile acid in the bile also play a triggering role.

In the early stage of extrahepatic bile duct cancer, metastasis is rare, and the disease mainly spreads directly by infiltrating upward and downward along the bile duct wall. For example, upper hepatic duct cancer can directly invade the liver, which is more common than middle and lower cancer. The most common metastasis is the lymph nodes in the portal area, but it can also spread to lymph nodes in other parts of the abdominal cavity. Blood metastasis is generally rare unless it is in the late stage of cancer.

Among all the bile duct cancers, liver metastasis is the most common, especially for high-positioned bile duct cancer. Cancerous tissues are prone to invade the portal vein, forming cancerous blood clots, which can lead to liver metastasis and also metastasis to the adjacent organs such as the pancreas and gallbladder. We should pay attention to the cause of this disease and take precautions against bile duct cancer.