It may come back in the bile duct or in another part of the body. Treatment depends on many factors, including where the cancer came back and what treatment the patient received before. Clinical trials are testing new treatments. Treatment Types and Side Effects Patients with extrahepatic bile duct cancer usually are treated with either surgery or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy and biological therapy are being studied in clinical trials.
Surgery is a common treatment for extrahepatic bile duct cancer.
If the cancer is small and is only in the bile duct, a doctor may remove the whole bile duct and make a new duct by connecting the duct openings in the liver to the intestine. The doctor will also remove lymph nodes and look at them under a microscope to see if they contain cancer. If the cancer has spread outside the bile duct, a surgeon may remove the bile duct and the tissues around it. If the cancer has spread and cannot be removed, the doctor may do surgery to relieve symptoms. During this operation, the doctor will cut the gallbladder or bile duct and sew it to the small intestine.