Library · Neoplasm
Cholangiocarcinoma
Make it clearer
Cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer, a malignant tumor, that starts in the biliary epithelium: the layer of cells that lines the inside of the bile ducts, the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the intestine. It can show up anywhere along that route, from the finest bile canaliculi inside the liver to the place where the common bile duct empties into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine.
It is sorted by where it starts. If it starts inside the liver it is called intrahepatic; if it starts outside, extrahepatic, a form that is split into perihilar and distal. Almost all of them are adenocarcinomas, the type of cancer that arises from gland-forming cells. It is hard to diagnose, especially when it sits outside the liver, because the available biopsy techniques are not sensitive enough to detect it.
In brief
Cholangiocarcinoma is an aggressive malignant tumor of the biliary epithelium, and it can arise anywhere along the biliary tree, from the canaliculi inside the liver to the point where the common bile duct empties into the duodenum.
It is classified by origin as intrahepatic or extrahepatic, and the extrahepatic form as perihilar or distal. Most are adenocarcinomas.
It is hard to diagnose, especially in extrahepatic lesions, because the available biopsy techniques are not sensitive enough.
Sources (1)
- NCBI Bookshelf, U.S. National Library of MedicineCholangiocarcinoma (StatPearls)Published
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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