What are the symptoms of bile duct cancer

As people age, their body functions decline and they become more susceptible to various diseases. Cholangiocarcinoma is a common disease among the elderly. Today we will introduce to you the symptoms of bile duct cancer so that you can detect the disease in time, grasp the best treatment opportunity, and improve the survival rate. Let's take a look.

Weight loss and abdominal pain: Due to the infiltration of bile duct tumors and the occurrence of nausea, vomiting, etc., the body consumes too much energy, leading to nutritional deficiencies. Patients with bile duct cancer who lose about 50% of their weight have symptoms of bile duct cancer such as distension or discomfort in the right upper abdomen, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Clinically, these symptoms are often confused with cholelithiasis and cholecystitis and are easily misdiagnosed.

Changes in urine and stool color: Along with jaundice, abdominal pain and other symptoms, patients may also have dark yellow urine, usually soy sauce color or strong tea color, and light yellow or clay color stools. In the late stage of bile duct cancer, if the tumor ruptures, bile duct bleeding may occur, leading to black stools, positive fecal occult blood test, and anemia in severe cases. This is also a symptom of bile duct cancer.

Skin itching: Due to the increase of bilirubin content in the blood, the peripheral nerves of the skin are stimulated, causing skin itching, which may be accompanied by jaundice, tachycardia, bleeding tendency, mental depression, fatigue and abdominal distension.

Jaundice: It is the most common symptom, accounting for about 36.5%. Jaundice is the result of bile duct obstruction, which is often progressive and deepens. The degree of jaundice is related to the location and degree of obstruction. Jaundice is deeper when the extrahepatic bile duct is obstructed, and lighter when the intrahepatic bile duct branches are blocked. Jaundice is deeper when the bile duct is completely obstructed, and lighter when the bile duct is incompletely obstructed. Occasionally, inflammation, spasm of the bile duct, tumor shedding, and papillary tumor displacement can cause jaundice to fluctuate. Middle and lower bile duct cancer often presents as painless cholestatic jaundice. The patient's urine is dark yellow or tea-colored, and the stool becomes lighter or clay-colored.

The above is an introduction to the symptoms of bile duct cancer. I hope it will be helpful to you.