What indicators can be used to identify bile duct cancer

What indicators can be used to identify bile duct cancer? The occurrence of bile duct cancer is very harmful, and because there are no typical symptoms of this disease, it is easy for patients to ignore it and miss the opportunity for treatment. Therefore, it is recommended that you pay more attention to your own health problems and go to the hospital for examination and identification in time if you find any abnormalities. So what indicators can be used to identify bile duct cancer?

The characteristics of cholangiocarcinoma are: ① Abdominal pain is more obvious than jaundice; ② Pain at night and at rest is the main symptom; ③ ALP and γ-GPT increase significantly in the early stage; ④ B-ultrasound and CT can show dilatation of the bile duct above the obstruction, and lumps are rarely seen; ⑤ Direct cholangiography can show specific bile duct obstruction images. Cholangiocarcinoma needs to be differentiated from the following benign and malignant diseases.

1. Benign bile duct disease

(1) Benign bile duct tumors: It is difficult to differentiate between benign and malignant bile duct tumors in medical history, physical examination, and direct cholangiography, and generally relies on histological and cytological examinations. However, if metastatic lesions are found before surgery, they are definitely malignant.

(2) Common bile duct stones: The patient has a long history of paroxysmal abdominal pain. Jaundice is also intermittent with obvious symptom relief periods. Pain attacks are often accompanied by varying degrees of cholangitis symptoms, such as fever, chills, increased blood count, and signs of localized peritonitis. Translucent shadows and cup-shaped shadows of stones can be seen in choledochography, and the bile duct wall is smooth, but it is difficult to distinguish from polyp-type cholangiocarcinoma. Choledochoscopy is helpful for diagnosis.

(3) Mirrizzi syndrome: Cholangiography shows compression of the right side of the common hepatic duct with smooth edges. Ultrasound can show stones embedded in the cystic duct. If the diagnosis is uncertain during surgery, bile duct histology can be performed.

(4) Benign biliary stricture: It usually occurs after abdominal surgery, and a few occur after abdominal trauma. Biliary stricture can also be shown in choledochography, but its edges are smooth and symmetrical on both sides. If necessary, choledochoscopy can be used to obtain tissue specimens for identification.

2. Malignant diseases of the bile duct

(1) Pancreatic head cancer: This disease is often accompanied by obstruction of the pancreatic duct. On ERCP images, pancreatic duct stenosis or occlusion can be seen. Ultrasound and CT images show a mass in the pancreatic head and a significant dilation of the pancreatic duct in the pancreatic body and tail. There is often a significant reduction or lack of pancreatic enzymes in the duodenal drainage fluid. Clinically, jaundice is more obvious and is often painless and progressive. When pain occurs, it is usually in the late stage.

(2) Papillary carcinoma: Hypotonic duodenography can often show a filling defect on the left edge of the descending duodenum. Endoscopy can often directly visualize the tumor and perform histological examination.

(3) Gallbladder cancer: When this disease invades the hilar bile duct or the upper bile duct, it is difficult to differentiate it from cholangiocarcinoma. However, B-ultrasound and CT scans can reveal consolidation or mass in the gallbladder, and selective arterial angiography can reveal ischemic tumor shadows in the gallbladder area.

Since there are many types of bile duct cancer and similar diseases, we must be cautious when the disease occurs and avoid misdiagnosis, because this is something our body cannot bear. To fight the disease, we must start from the root in order to achieve the best treatment effect.