Is bile duct cancer a fatal disease?

Because the early symptoms of bile duct cancer are relatively hidden and difficult to detect, it is easy to be ignored and misdiagnosed, thus missing the best time for treatment, which makes the disease more serious. In addition, when it is discovered, it is often in the middle and late stages, and cancer cells can easily invade blood vessels and nerve tissues, making treatment difficult. At this point, everyone can't help but ask: Is bile duct cancer a life-threatening disease?

Cholangiocarcinoma refers to a malignant tumor of the extrahepatic bile duct that originates from the confluence of the left and right hepatic ducts to the lower end of the common bile duct. It is very harmful to patients. Cholangiocarcinoma can easily lead to liver failure in patients, which is a very important reason for the death of many cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Without any surgery or drainage for bile duct cancer, most patients will die within 3 months after diagnosis. The 1-year and 3-year survival rates of more thorough tumor resection are 90% and 40%, respectively, while those of palliative surgery are only 55% and 10%. The survival time of advanced patients with simple drainage rarely exceeds 1 year. Literature reports that the survival time of upper, middle and lower bile duct cancer is (8.75±6.31), (10.31±8.01) and (14.48±12.95) months, respectively.

Traditionally, the prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma is considered to be extremely poor, which is related to the clinical type, pathological characteristics and treatment methods. The average survival of the surgical resection group is generally 13 months, and it is rare to survive for 5 years. If only internal or external drainage of the bile duct is performed, the average survival is only 6 to 7 months, and rarely exceeds 1 year.

However, with the development of radical resection, the application of memory alloy biliary stents, and the application of comprehensive post-vertebral treatment measures, the 2-year survival rate after radical resection has reached 40% to 70%, and the average survival time after palliative treatment has exceeded 1 year. The patient's quality of life has also improved, but the 5-year survival rate is still low.

According to actual reports, if the treatment of bile duct cancer by traditional Chinese medicine is effective, there are generally few side effects of Western medicine. There are already cases of bile duct cancer being cured by traditional Chinese medicine.

Other data show that scientific symptomatic treatment methods can increase the three-year survival rate of patients with early and middle-stage bile duct cancer from 22% to 76%. Only early detection and early treatment can achieve satisfactory treatment results.

In short, although bile duct cancer is quite scary, maintaining a good attitude and choosing appropriate and reasonable treatment plans can reduce the patient's pain and prolong the patient's life.