What to do if you have bloating in your stomach due to bile duct cancer? 3 treatment methods to know

Biliary duct cancer causes great harm to patients, affecting not only the body but also the mind. Long-term treatment makes patients miserable. There are many symptoms of bile duct cancer. One of them is abdominal bloating, which will make patients very uncomfortable. Diuretics can be used for treatment. You should go to the hospital for a check-up and then receive symptomatic treatment.

What to do if your stomach is bloated due to bile duct cancer

Abdominal distension in the late stage of bile duct cancer is considered to be caused by ascites, which can be treated with diuretics. It is recommended to go to the hospital for further examination to determine the cause.

Cholangiocarcinoma refers to a malignant tumor originating from the extrahepatic bile duct, including the bile duct from the liver hilar area to the lower end of the common bile duct. Its etiology may be related to diseases such as bile duct stones and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Clinical treatment methods include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc., but the prognosis is poor.

Patients may develop jaundice, which is a persistent jaundice that gradually worsens, accompanied by itching and weight loss. A small number of patients without jaundice present with upper abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by fever and abdominal mass. Other symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and weight loss.

1. Surgery

The treatment principle of bile duct cancer is: surgical resection is the main treatment for early cases, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy to consolidate and improve the effect of surgical treatment. For advanced cases that cannot be resected, biliary drainage surgery should be performed to control bile duct infection, improve liver function, reduce complications, prolong life, and improve quality of life.

2. Radiation therapy

Surgical resection is the only radical treatment for cholangiocarcinoma. Adjuvant radiotherapy can only improve the patient's survival rate. For unresectable and locally metastatic cholangiocarcinoma, radiotherapy can improve the patient's symptoms and prolong life after effective biliary drainage. However, cholangiocarcinoma has always been considered a tumor that is not sensitive to radiation. The median survival of radiotherapy is generally reported to be 9 to 12 months.

3. Chemotherapy

Cholangiocarcinoma is not sensitive to chemotherapy and is less sensitive to chemotherapy than other gastrointestinal tumors such as colon cancer. However, chemotherapy may relieve the symptoms caused by cholangiocarcinoma, improve the quality of life of patients, and may also prolong survival.