Treatments for bile duct cancer
If you have bile duct cancer, your healthcare team will create a treatment plan just for you. It will be based on your health and specific information about the cancer. When deciding which treatments to offer for bile duct cancer, your healthcare team will consider:
- whether the tumour can be completely removed with surgery (is resectable) or cannot be completely removed (is unresectable)
- the stage of your cancer
- your overall health
In the early stages of bile duct cancer, complete removal of the tumour with surgery is the only treatment that offers a chance for a cure. But usually in an advanced stage, the cancer cannot be fully removed with surgery. Chemotherapy and chemoradiation may be given to slow down the spread of cancer and prolong life. Palliative treatment may also be used to relieve symptoms. Intrahepatic bile duct cancers are treated more like liver cancer.
Treatments for resectable bile duct cancer
Treatment options for resectable extrahepatic bile duct cancer include surgery and radiation therapy. The types of treatments given are based on the unique needs of the person with cancer.
Treatments for unresectable bile duct cancer
Treatment options for unresectable extrahepatic bile duct cancer include chemotherapy, palliative surgery and chemoradiation. The types of treatments given are based on the unique needs of the person with cancer.
Treatments for recurrent bile duct cancer
The following are treatment options for recurrent extrahepatic bile duct cancer. The types of treatments given are based on the unique needs of the person with cancer.
Surgery for bile duct cancer
Surgery is the main treatment used to treat bile duct cancer.
Radiation therapy for bile duct cancer
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays or particles to destroy cancer cells. Radiation may be used for extrahepatic bile duct cancer to relieve pain or to control the symptoms of advanced extrahepatic bile duct cancer (palliative radiation therapy) as the main treatment, with or without chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy for bile duct cancer
Chemotherapy is often used to treat extrahepatic bile duct cancer.
Follow-up after treatment for bile duct cancer
Extrahepatic bile duct cancer behaves differently in each person, and a standard follow-up schedule would not work for everyone. People with extrahepatic bile duct cancer should talk to their doctor about a plan that suits their individual situation. Follow-up care is often shared among the specialists .