What harm does bile duct cancer do to the human body

Once you are diagnosed with bile duct cancer, the most important issues for patients and their families are: whether it can be cured, whether it will recur after surgery, and how long the patient will live after surgery. So what kind of harm does bile duct cancer have on the human body, which makes patients and their families so anxious and troubled? Let's learn about bile duct cancer together: What harm does bile duct cancer have on the human body?

Cholangiocarcinoma refers to a malignant tumor of the extrahepatic bile duct that originates from the confluence of the left and right hepatic ducts to the lower end of the common bile duct. The early diagnosis rate is low, and most of them have entered the middle and late stages when they are diagnosed. Without any surgery or drainage for cholangiocarcinoma, most patients die within 3 months after the diagnosis. The 1-year and 3-year survival rates of more thorough tumor resection are 90% and 40%, respectively, while those of palliative surgery are only 55% and 10%. The survival time of advanced patients with simple drainage rarely exceeds 1 year. Literature reports that the survival time of upper, middle and lower bile duct cancer is (8.75±6.31), (10.31±8.01) and (14.48±12.95) months, respectively. Therefore, the harm of cholangiocarcinoma is extremely great.

First of all, bile duct obstruction and cholangiocarcinoma can cause bile duct obstruction in patients, which in turn leads to functional disorders of the bile duct system, and then to digestive system disorders, causing anorexia, poor appetite, and indigestion, which in turn leads to malnutrition, emaciation, weight loss, decreased resistance and immunity, and other problems.

Cholangiocarcinoma can also easily lead to liver failure in patients, which is a very important reason for the death of many bile duct cancer patients.

Biliary duct cancer often causes bile fistula in patients. This is the most common and serious complication after bile duct cancer surgery. Because there are many openings in the intrahepatic bile duct, it is sometimes difficult to properly handle, making it easy for patients to develop bile fistula after surgery.

In the late stage of cholangiocarcinoma, metastasis may occur, which is a dynamic and continuous process. First, tumor cells invade and break through the tissue barrier to enter the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels to form cell emboli, which then fall off and run in the blood or lymphatic vessels. Then, they adhere to the endothelial cells of the microcirculation of distant organs, stay there, and pass through the microcirculation, multiply in the new tissue and organ substance, and grow into new metastatic tumors. In addition, during the metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma, cancer cells can also fall directly into the body cavity. Implantation on the serosal surface forms implanted metastatic tumors.

Massive intraperitoneal hemorrhage is also a common and serious hazard of cholangiocarcinoma and a common complication after cholangiocarcinoma surgery. This situation often occurs in patients with combined liver lobectomy and portal vein damage during surgery.