Palliative therapy
Palliative therapy has an important role in the treatment of bile duct cancer. Special attention should be paid to the outflow of the bile in icterus. The ERCP is available for this purpose.
In this examination, a plastic tube (stent) is inserted into the narrowed bile duct and thus ensures the outflow of bile. If the bile ducts cannot be probed, the bile can be drained to the outside. For this purpose, a percutaneous transheptic drainage (PTD) is placed through the skin using the PTC examination.
By eliminating the icterus, many symptoms are alleviated and some complications are prevented, such as hepatic coma and infection of the bile (cholangitis), thus prolonging survival time and preserving quality of life. It is also important to consider tumor pain, which should be treated by an experienced pain therapist as the disease progresses. An important accompanying measure for all late-stage tumor patients should be psychosocial therapy, for example in the form of self-help groups.
