Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma)

Explanation

Bile duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma, begins in the tubes that carry bile, a digestive fluid made by the liver, toward the intestine.

What are the bile ducts?

Bile is a digestive fluid made by the liver. Bile ducts are tubes that carry it from the liver toward the intestine, and the gallbladder stores it. Cholangiocarcinoma is cancer that begins in these ducts. It is different from gallbladder cancer and from cancers that begin in liver cells.

What do the location terms mean?

Intrahepatic bile duct cancer begins in ducts within the liver. Extrahepatic bile duct cancer begins in ducts outside the liver. These words describe location, not stage, which refers to how far cancer has spread. Symptoms alone cannot establish the diagnosis.

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