Gallbladder and Bile Duct cancer

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07/09/23

About Friends of Cancer Patients:

Founded in 1999, FOCP was established to help alleviate the financial and emotional burden that cancer often imposes on patients and their families, and to promote awareness about the six early detectable forms of the disease; breast, cervical, prostate, skin, testicular, and colorectal cancers. Apart from its awareness role, FOCP is committed to providing moral and financial support to thousands of patients and their families of all ages and nationalities across the UAE.

Webinar: Gallbladder and Bile Duct cancer
Dr. Khuloud Bajbouj
Basic Medical Sciences Department College of Medicine
University of Sharjah
07.02.21

Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon cancer, with an incidence of fewer than 2 cases per 100,000 people per year in the United States. It is particularly common in central and South America, central and eastern Europe, Japan, and northern India; it is also common in certain ethnic groups e.g. Native American Indians and Hispanics. If it is diagnosed early enough, it can be cured by removing the gallbladder, part of the liver, and associated lymph nodes. Most often it is found after symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice and vomiting occur, and it has spread to other organs such as the liver.

It is rare cancer that is thought to be related to gallstones building up, which also can lead to calcification of the gallbladder, a condition known as porcelain gallbladder. Porcelain gallbladder is also rare. Some studies indicate that people with a porcelain gallbladder have a high risk of developing gallbladder cancer, but other studies question this. The outlook is poor for recovery if the cancer is found after symptoms have started to occur, with a 5-year survival rate of close to 3%.

Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is a type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma may include abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, generalized itching, and fever. Light-colored stool or dark urine may also occur. Other biliary tract cancers include gallbladder cancer and cancer of the ampulla of Vater.

Risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma include primary sclerosing cholangitis (an inflammatory disease of the bile ducts), ulcerative colitis, cirrhosis, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, infection with certain liver flukes, and some congenital liver malformations. However, most people have no identifiable risk factors. The diagnosis is suspected based on a combination of blood tests, medical imaging, endoscopy, and sometimes surgical exploration. The disease is confirmed by examination of cells from the tumor under a microscope. It is typically an adenocarcinoma (cancer that forms glands or secretes mucin).

Cholangiocarcinoma is typically incurable at diagnosis. In these cases, palliative treatments may include surgical resection, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and stenting procedures. In about a third of cases involving the common bile duct and less commonly with other locations the tumor can be completely removed by surgery offering a chance of a cure. Even when surgical removal is successful chemotherapy and radiation therapy are generally recommended. In certain cases, surgery may include liver transplantation. Even when surgery is successful 5-year survival is typically less than 50%.

Cholangiocarcinoma is rare in the Western world, with estimates of it occurring in 0.5–2 people per 100,000 per year. Rates are higher in South-East Asia where liver flukes are common. Rates in parts of Thailand are 60 per 100,000 per year. It typically occurs in people in their 70s; however, in those with primary sclerosing cholangitis, it often occurs in the 40s. Rates of cholangiocarcinoma within the liver in the Western world have increased.

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