About

Cholangiocarcinoma Ireland was founded in 2024 by patients and family members affected by bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), who noted the stark lack of up to date information regarding this devastating disease in Ireland.

We aim to provide reliable and current information for Irish patients in relation to the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, as well as recommendations as to specialists in Ireland and abroad.

Furthermore, we aim to support research into better treatments for this relatively rare type of cancer, which we hope will ultimately lead to a cure.

Cholangiocarcinoma Ireland was founded with the support of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation in America, and with help from the AMMF charity in Europe.

We wish to thank the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation and the AMMF for their support, and we endorse the great work they do in supporting patients and family members affected by cholangiocarcinoma.

What is Cholangiocarcinoma?

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), pronounced (koh-LAN-jee-oh-KAR-sih-NOH-muh), is a rare bile duct cancer of the liver.

It is also sometimes referred to as a biliary tract cancer, as this is a broader term which refers to cancers that occur in the bile ducts, gallbladder, and other parts of the biliary system.

Cholangiocarcinoma starts in the bile duct, a thin tube, about 4 to 5 inches long, that reaches from the liver to the small intestine. The major function of the bile duct is to move a fluid called bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine, where it helps digest the fats in food.

Different parts of the bile duct system have different names. In the liver it begins as many tiny tubes (ductules) where bile collects from the liver cells. The ductules come together to form small ducts, which then merge into larger ducts and eventually the left and right hepatic ducts. The ducts within the liver are called intrahepatic bile ducts. These ducts exit from the liver and join to form the common hepatic duct at the hilum.

About one-third of the way along the length of the bile duct, the gallbladder (a small organ that stores bile) attaches by a small duct called the cystic duct. The combined duct is called the common bile duct. The common bile duct passes through part of the pancreas before it empties into the first part of the small intestine (the duodenum), next to where the pancreatic duct also enters the small intestine.

Cancers can develop in any part of the bile duct and, based on their location, are classified into 3 types:

  • Intrahepatic CCA occurs inside the liver where cancer develops in the hepatic bile ducts or the smaller intrahepatic biliary ducts. In some cases, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tumour may have microscopic features of both hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) and cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and are considered “combined” or “mixed” tumours.

  • These cancers develop where the right and left hepatic ducts have joined and are leaving the liver. These are the most common type of cholangiocarcinoma accounting for more than half of all bile duct cancers.

  • Distal CCA occurs outside the liver after the right and left hepatic bile ducts have joined to form the common bile duct. This type of cancer is found where the common bile duct passes through the pancreas and into the small intestine.