Bile Duct Cancer Archive Questions

Below are Dr. Hanna’s answers to Bile Duct Cancer questions
received through the Ask the Expert feature.

This content is provided for informational purposes only, and is not intended
to be a substitute for individual medical advice in diagnosing or treating a
health problem. Please consult with your physician about your specific health
care concerns.



Now displaying records 1 to 8 of 8.

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Q : 1 06/16/2008	My mother died of cholangiocarcinoma in January 2005, and my oldest brother, who was treated at UMGCC, died from the same cancer in April 2006. Now another brother is experiencing gastric pains, similar to those that my mother and brother experienced. He is being evaluated at a local hospital, but our experience as a family has been that the doctors there are not familiar with cholangiocarcinoma, and were not able to diagnose it. Since the disease runs in families, should we be having screening tests? There are no screening tests for cholangiocarcinoma. However, MRCP and ERCP are the tests of choice that I would recommend for evaluation. I will be happy to evaluate your brother and also offer genetic counseling.
Q : 2 08/23/2007	I was diagnosed with periampullary adenocarcinoma and I underwent Whipple procedure in March,2007. Tumor was of moderately differentiated grade. Two small perpancreatic lymph nodes of size of 0.5 and 1.0 cm were made out and found free from metastatic deposit. Bowel and pancreatic margins were also free from tumor. CA and CEA were normal. Regarding chemotherapy, two doctors gave different opinions. Do I need chemotherapy? Generally no for T2N0 pancreatic cancer, unless there is adverse histological findings such as poorly differentiated, or lymphovascular or perineural invasion.
Q : 3 02/14/2006	If surgery is not an alternative to treat this type (bile duct) cancer, what procedure would be recomended? What are the results expected? Is it true that surgery is extremly risky? Surgery is the best option and in experienced hands, surgery is not extremely risky.
Q : 4 01/27/2006	I had bile duct cancer two years ago. I had a whipple procedure. They said I didn't need additional treatment. I have been fine. I have ct scans every few months. Iam fine. Should I consider myself cured? You should not let your guard down. You need to continue follow up for 5 years before we can consider you a long term survivor.
Q : 5 01/16/2006	In addition to metastatic cholangiocarcinoma, I have primary sclerosing cholangitis. I have been to several clinics and have received varying opinions. One doctor recommended radiation and 5FU chemo, but my hepatologist said my bile ducts are too fragile to handle radiation and the 5FU would cause certain quick death. A different doctor recommends Gemcitobin but admits only ~10% chance of shrinking my tumor(located at the distal end of my CBD at the pancreatic head). Apparently surgery is out of the question. Do you think you would have anything to offer me? I know someone being treated at your center for cholangiocarcinoma (no PSC) and they are ecstatic with their care. We would be delighted to review your case and make recommendation. You may forward us a copy of your medical records if you wish.
Q : 6 10/26/2005	My 59-year-old wife was recently diagnosed with Bile Duct cancer within the liver. She just started chemotherapy. I am looking for additional information on this disease(successful therapy, diets, etc.) I hope you can assist us. The best option is SURGERY if it can be done. Has she been evaluated by a surgeon? If not, she should be.
Q : 7 10/21/2005	My father just passed away with primary bile duct cancer. How long, in terms of years or months could someone have this cancer? He served in Veitnam. Might this have been service connected? Majority of cancers require years to develop from a normal cell to a malignant one. Most cancers are asymptomatic until they are large enough to cause symptoms, which in many cases occurs when the cancer is in the advanced stage, such as in bile duct cancer. I am not aware of any links between this type of cancer and serving in Veitnam.
Q : 8 10/12/2005	A tumor has be found in my father's bile duct and a stint has been placed to open it up, along with many other tests including CT scans, MRIs and now a bone marrow test. Why the bone marrow test? I keep hearing that this test is only done in the worst case scenerio to determine if surgery is an even option at all. A bone marrow test is sometimes done to see if any tumor cells have spread. Though not a routine test, it might be done to evaluate his elgibility for a specific protocol or therapy.

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