[A clinicopathological study on the proximal border of bile duct carcinoma]

We studied the clinicopathological characteristics of the proximal border of bile duct cancer among 46 cases. In both the superficial and the superficially spreading type, cancer was located within the mucosa and the mucous membrane at its verge was more hypertrophic than the proximal noncancerous mucosa, but they didn't differ from each other in thickness at the fibromuscular and Glisson's fibrous layer. In bile duct cancer without superficial spread, on the other hand, the tumor involve the fibromuscular or Glisson's fibrous layer and fibromuscular or Glisson's fibrous layer at their verge was more hypertrophic than the proximal noncancerous bile duct, which resulted in the narrowing bile duct at the lesion. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy (PTCS) facilitates the preoperative diagnosis of the extent of the bile duct cancer, which shows a granular change of the mucosa and tumor vessels. The wall irregularity and narrowing of the bile duct demonstrated by the selective cholangiography are also referred to its extent.