Research into bile duct cancer
Researchers in the UK are trying to improve the diagnosis and treatment of bile duct cancer. Bile duct cancer is also called cholangiocarcinoma.
Go to Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for bile duct cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials you think you might be able to take part in.
Research and clinical trials
All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:
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they work
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they work better than the treatments already available
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they are safe
To make sure the research is accurate, each trial has certain entry conditions for who can take part. These are different for each trial.
Hospitals do not take part in every clinical trial. Some trials are only done in a small number of hospitals, or in one area of the country. You may need to travel quite far if you take part in these trials.
About this research
Some of the research on this page has now stopped asking people to take part. But, it takes time before the results are available. This is because the research teams follows the patients for a period of time to collect and analyse the information.
We have included information about these to give examples of the types of research being carried out.
Research into preventing bile duct cancer
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare type of inflammation of the bile ducts. People with PSC have an increased risk of getting bile duct cancer.
Researchers are looking to see if taking aspirin reduces the risk of cancer in people with PSC.
There are risks with taking aspirin as there are with all medicines. It can cause serious side effects for some people such as internal bleeding. There are also other reasons why some people shouldn’t take aspirin. Researchers don’t know yet if this treatment will help prevent bile duct cancer in people with PSC. So, you should talk to your healthcare team if you are thinking about taking aspirin.
Research into the risks and causes of bile duct cancer
At the moment we don’t know why most people with bile duct cancer get it.
Researchers are looking at the 
and in the liver, blood, urine and bile of people with liver conditions. They want to see how their immune system would respond to a cancer or the proteins made by cancer. They hope to be able to tell if people with liver conditions have a high risk of getting cancer.
Research into the diagnosis of bile duct cancer
Cancer of the bile ducts is often diagnosed at an advanced stage.
Researchers are currently looking at blood, urine and tissue samples from people who have symptoms that could be due to bile duct cancer. They want to know if the samples contain certain biomarkers. They hope this could be ways of diagnosing cancer, and at an earlier stage.
Research into treatment for bile duct cancer
Researchers are looking into new and different treatment for bile duct cancer. They are also looking at things that might affect how well the treatments work.
This includes looking at whether the bacteria and viruses that normally live in our gut () affect how bile duct cancer treatment works.
Research into chemotherapy for bile duct cancer
Chemotherapy uses cytotoxic drugs to destroy cancer cells. It is the main treatment for advanced bile duct cancer.
Chemotherapy after surgery
You usually have chemotherapy after surgery to remove bile duct cancer. This is to try and stop the cancer coming back. It is called adjuvant chemotherapy.
Researchers are comparing the current adjuvant chemotherapy, capecitabine, with a different:
- combination of chemotherapy drugs to see if they work better
- chemotherapy drug that has fewer heart side effects
Research into targeted cancer drugs for bile duct cancer
Targeted cancer drugs work by targeting the differences that a cancer cell has that help them to survive and grow. They are a common treatment for different types of cancer.
Researchers are looking into targeted cancer drugs for advanced bile duct cancer. These drugs that are:
- completely new
- already used for other cancer types
- for bile duct cancers that have certain gene changes (mutations)
You might have these targeted cancer drugs with chemotherapy.
Researchers are also looking at matching targeted cancer drugs to people with rare cancers, including bile duct cancer. They do this by analysing the cancer cells to check for gene changes. This helps them to work out if one of the drugs in the trial is likely to work. This is for people with bile duct cancer that has come back. Or for people whose treatment has stopped working.
Research into immunotherapy for bile duct cancer
Immunotherapy helps the immune system to attack cancer.
Researchers are looking at:
- new types of immunotherapy with chemotherapy after surgery to remove bile duct cancer
- combining immunotherapy with targeted cancer drugs for bile duct cancer with certain gene changes
Research into radiotherapy for bile duct cancer
Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to treat cancer cells. It isn’t a common treatment for bile duct cancer.
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a way of giving radiotherapy from many different positions around the body. The cancer receives high doses of radiation, but the surrounding tissues only get a low dose. This lowers the risk of side effects.
Some researchers are looking at giving SBRT after chemotherapy to people with locally advanced bile duct cancer. This means the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and organs near the bile duct. They hope this will control the cancer for longer.
