What is the diagnosis method for bile duct cancer

What is the diagnosis method for bile duct cancer? From the name of bile duct cancer, we can know that it is a kind of cancer. The biggest harm of cancer is that it will cause life-threatening danger. The harm of bile duct cancer is the same. However, if we discover and treat it in time, we can increase the hope of cure. So what is the diagnosis method for bile duct cancer?

1. Medical history

There may be a history of bile duct stones, common bile duct cysts, sclerosing cholangitis, etc.

2. Clinical manifestations

Cholangiocarcinoma mainly occurs in elderly patients, more common in men. The main clinical manifestations of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma are progressive jaundice, strong tea-like urine, itchy skin and white clay-like stools; other gastrointestinal symptoms include upper abdominal distension and pain, loss of appetite, fever, nausea, fatigue and weight loss. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma presents with nonspecific right hypochondrium pain, accompanied by nausea, fever and weight loss; jaundice may occur if the lesion is close to the liver portal area.

3. Diagnostic points

(1) Epidemiological characteristics: The age of patients is generally 50 to 70 years old, with an average age of 60 to 65 years old. The incidence rate is slightly higher in men, with a male to female ratio of approximately 1:3:1.

(2) Signs: Except for jaundice, physical examination often shows no specific manifestations. When there is a tumor at the lower end of the common bile duct, an enlarged and painless gallbladder may be palpated during physical examination. The size of hepatocytes and the symmetrical volume of the normal liver are maintained by a complex balance between the bile flow and the blood flow in and out of the liver (portal vein, hepatic artery, and hepatic vein). Cholangiocarcinoma causes bile duct obstruction and interruption of bile flow. Tumor progression causes narrowing or interruption of the corresponding portal vein, leading to atrophy of the corresponding liver segment (lobe), and corresponding compensatory hypertrophy of the non-damaged liver (lobe) segment, resulting in the so-called hypertrophy/atrophy complex. These patients often show unilateral liver enlargement and clinically no jaundice.