Will bile duct cancer endanger life?

Some people know almost nothing about bile duct cancer, which is known as the "king of cancer". Because this disease is not common, people know relatively little about it. In addition, 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 its harm more serious. So will bile duct cancer endanger life?

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. Because two-thirds of cholangiocarcinomas grow in the liver hilum, a special location where blood vessels are crisscrossed like wires, and most are discovered in the middle and late stages, cancer cells easily invade vascular nerve tissues, making treatment difficult and the prognosis poor.

According to statistics, the one-year survival rate of most patients with bile duct cancer who receive internal and external bile duct drainage after diagnosis is less than 50%, and the five-year survival rate after radical resection is only 13.4% to 25.7%. 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.

Cholangiocarcinoma will first cause the patient to suffer from anorexia and indigestion, which will then lead to malnutrition, emaciation, weight loss, decreased resistance and immunity, and other problems.

Biliary duct cancer can easily lead to liver failure, which is a very important reason for many bile duct cancer patients to die. Biliary duct cancer also often leads to bile fistula, which is the most common and serious complication after bile duct cancer surgery.

In the late stage of cholangiocarcinoma, metastasis may occur, which is a dynamic and continuous process. First, tumor cells invade and break through the tissue barrier to enter the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels to form cell emboli, which then fall off and run in the blood or lymphatic vessels. Then, they adhere to the endothelial cells of the microcirculation of distant organs, stay there, and pass through the microcirculation, multiply in the new tissue and organ substance, and grow into new metastatic tumors.

In addition, during the metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma, cancer cells can also fall directly into the body cavity and implant on the serosal surface to form implanted metastatic tumors.

Therefore, bile duct cancer is very harmful. Once you are diagnosed with it, it will greatly affect the continuation of your life.