What are the causes of bile duct cancer?

Cholangiocarcinoma is a malignant tumor. The incidence group is mainly concentrated in people over 50 years old. Some cholangiocarcinoma patients have no obvious symptoms after onset. They are not found to have cholangiocarcinoma until they go to the hospital for examination. Because we usually neglect health care, we may get the disease inadvertently. So, what are the causes of cholangiocarcinoma?

The cause of bile duct cancer is still unclear, and its occurrence may be related to the following factors.

1. Cholelithiasis Chronic stimulation of gallstones and chronic inflammatory changes in the bile duct may be one of the factors that trigger bile duct mucosal carcinoma. It has been reported that about 1/3 of bile duct cancer is associated with stones, with the highest incidence in middle bile duct cancer, and most of them are bile duct stones; hilar bile duct cancer is often accompanied by gallbladder stones, and the incidence of intrahepatic stones is also increased. The relationship between gallstones and bile duct cancer is not as significant as gallbladder cancer, and it is difficult to confirm the causal relationship between the two.

2. Biliary duct cystic disease The canceration rate of congenital common bile duct cysts can be as high as 17.5%, and the canceration rate of intrahepatic bile duct cysts is also 7%, which is more than 100 times higher than the incidence of bile duct cancer in the population. The canceration of bile duct cysts may be related to bile stasis in the cyst cavity, chronic infection, and the decomposition of bile acid into strong carcinogens. In addition, since bile duct cysts are often combined with abnormalities in the common channel of the bile membrane duct and reflux of membrane fluid, membrane enzymes act on the cyst mucosal epithelium for a long time, causing proliferative changes, which may promote the occurrence of cancer.

3. Sclerosing cholangitis is characterized by the proliferation of a large number of fibrous tissues in the bile duct wall, which can cause localized or multiple segmental stenosis of the bile duct, and is sometimes difficult to distinguish from sclerosing cholangiocarcinoma. Most data show that the chance of developing cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis is much higher than that of the general population, and the two are closely related.

4. Chronic ulcerative colitis often coexists with sclerosing cholangitis. The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma is about 10 times that of the general population, usually multifocal, and has a very poor prognosis. Chronic ulcerative colitis is often accompanied by chronic bacteremia in the portal vein system, which may be related to sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma.

5. Other factors: Clonorchis sinensis infection is common in southern China and can cause chronic inflammation of the bile duct system. The parasites and their metabolites can also stimulate the proliferation and canceration of the bile duct mucosal epithelium. Other factors that can long-term stimulate the bile duct epithelium or damage the bile duct mucosa may be the cause of bile duct cancer.

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