Bile duct cancer, sometimes referred to as cholangiocarcinoma, is when the bile ducts, which connect the liver to the gallbladder, become cancerous. Bile duct cancer is one of the rarest forms of cancer, but it is also one of the most serious. This is because by the time bile duct cancer shows any symptoms, it has usually metastasized to other parts of the body.
Bile duct cancer typically affects the elderly more than children or young to middle-aged adults. There are several different types of bile duct cancer, and they are named for the different parts of the body to which they spread. However, all types of bile duct cancer are equally serious and are usually treated in a similar manner.
Successfully treating and curing bile duct cancer relies on an early diagnosis and aggressive treatment. Once the cancer spreads to other parts of the body, treatment is more invasive, and your condition will be harder to cure.
In most cases, the first treatment option for bile duct cancer is to undergo surgery. Surgery is performed to remove as much of the cancer as possible, even if it means removing part or all of your bile ducts. If the cancer spreads to nearby organs, such as the liver, stomach, intestines, or gallbladder, those portions will need to be removed as well.
If surgery is not enough to completely eradicate the cancer from your bile ducts, you will also need chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses medications that attack and kill cancerous cells in the bile ducts and surrounding areas. However, chemotherapy also kills healthy cells and has unwanted side effects, including nausea, hair loss, vomiting, and more. In addition to being used after surgery, chemotherapy is also used before surgery to shrink tumours.
Radiofrequency ablation, which is when you superheat cancer cells to kill them, is another effective treatment for bile duct cancer. This method uses an electric current that heats up cancer cells and kills them. This treatment is much more targeted and precise than chemotherapy and radiation, which means it has fewer side effects.
Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams of radiation energy to attack and kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy is often used in conjunction with chemotherapy before or after surgery. When used together with chemotherapy, radiation therapy can shrink the tumour before an operation or eradicate any cancer that remains following an operation.
Because radiation therapy and chemotherapy are not very precise and can damage healthy cells, you may want to opt for targeted therapy. As the name implies, targeted therapy is much more precise and targeted than chemo and radiation.
This treatment also targets specific properties and parts of cancer cells and kills them rather than attacking the cell as a whole. However, targeted therapy only works on certain cancer cells, so testing may be needed to determine if it will be effective.
Another newer treatment for bile duct cancer is to weaponize your immune system to fight the cancer. Cancer cells often appear very similar to healthy cells that your immune system does not fight them. Immunotherapy helps your immune system recognize cancer cells so that your body fights them.
If the cancer spreads to the liver and your only option is to have your entire liver removed, you will then need a liver transplant. During this procedure, a healthy liver is installed in your body in place of the cancerous one that was removed.
As you can see, there are plenty of treatment options for bile duct cancer. The goal of successfully treating this form of cancer is to diagnose it early before it spreads. That way, your treatment is contained to the bile ducts and not to any surrounding organs or tissue.