Stages and grades of bile duct cancer

Doctors usually use the number staging system or the TNM system to stage bile duct cancer. If you have perihilar bile duct cancer, your doctor might use the Bismuth-Corlette classification as well.

Intrahepatic bile duct cancer starts in the bile ducts in the liver. Doctors usually use the number or TNM staging systems to describe intrahepatic bile duct cancer.

Perihilar bile duct cancer starts just outside the liver. Doctors usually use the the Bismuth-Corlette classification and the number or TNM staging system to describe perihilar bile duct cancer.

Distal bile duct cancer starts in the bile ducts near the pancreas and small bowel. Doctors usually use the number or TNM staging systems to describe distal bile duct cancer.