Diffuse bile duct tumors: guidelines for management

The majority of patients with bile duct cancer have small focal adenocarcinomas localized to the upper, middle, or lower third of the bile duct. In contrast, a small subgroup of patients have been identified with bile duct tumors that are diffuse, involving multiple segments of the extrahepatic biliary tract. Among 186 patients with documented bile duct cancer treated at the UCLA Medical Center between 1954 and 1988, 13 patients (7%) had diffuse lesions. Patients with diffuse tumors had markedly poorer survival rates than did those with focal lesions. As diffuse tumors are not amenable to resection, surgical management consists primarily of establishing suitable biliary drainage. All patients with bile duct cancer should undergo careful intraoperative evaluation to exclude a diffuse lesion before tumor resection.