World Cholangiocarcinoma Day, observed on the third Thursday in February from 2023 onward, is an international day that is observed to raise awareness about a very rare but aggressive type of cancer. It takes place on February 16 this year.
This is a day to educate and inform people about everything regarding the cancer of the bile ducts.
What is Cholangiocarcinoma?
Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare type of cancer that develops in the bile ducts and small tubes that carry digestive fluids into and around the liver. It also affects the gallbladder.
This type of cancer can be detected in the body through means of blood tests, endoscopy, MRIs, and surgical exploration. The diagnosis is only confirmed after the tumor is examined under a microscope.
The bile ducts are thin tubes that transport a fluid called ‘bile’ from the liver to the gallbladder and to the intestine to help digest fats. This type of cancer that affects them has risk factors that include being older than the age of 60, obesity, exposure to certain chemicals, and having high alcohol consumption.
Types of Cholangiocarcinoma
Classified according to their location, they can be ‘Intrahepatic’ — cancer that develops in tiny bile ducts inside the liver — or ‘extrahepatic’ — one that starts outside the liver.
Symptoms
A healthy liver is essential for ingestion and detoxification. But for patients touched by cholangiocarcinoma, the tumors in the bile duct prevent the liver from carrying out certain functions, which results in conditions like jaundice, weight loss, abdominal pain, and toxin build-up in the system.
The major symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma are - weight loss, fever, yellowish skin, and abdominal pain.
Treatment
Cholangiocarcinoma is incurable at the point where it’s diagnosed, and in these cases, palliative treatment is recommended.
The treatment can be either surgical, which includes removal of the bile duct, a partial hepatectomy, and a biliary bypass, or non-surgical, which includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
So, identifying the disease early is an effective treatment option. Unfortunately, cholangiocarcinoma is a poorly understood and under-researched disease that is increasing in incidence globally.
