Liver Disease:
Conditions

Cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, is a fast-moving and often lethal form of liver cancer. It is a relatively rare, but aggressive tumor that grows from the bile ducts of the liver. There are only approximately 5,000 new cases of cholangiocarcinoma each a year and it is a difficult cancer to cure.

Cholangiocarcinoma Treatment Options

The preferred cholangiocarcinoma treatment is surgical resection of the liver or liver transplantation. Cholangiocarcinoma treatment options are determined based on how advanced the cancer is. For bile duct cancer patients that are not surgical candidates, cholangiocarcinoma can be managed, though not cured, with adjuvant therapies like chemotherapy and radiation.

Liver Transplant as One of Cholangiocarcinoma Treatment Options

Emory is the only transplant center in Georgia that performs liver transplant procedures for cholangiocarcinoma.  We are one of only two centers performing cholangiocarcinoma liver transplant in the Southeast, with excellent results.

What sets the transplant center at Emory apart is our world-renowned multidisciplinary approach to treating bile duct cancer symptoms, which involves not only traditional treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy, but also liver transplantation for appropriate patients.

Radiation oncology, medical oncology, hepatology and transplant surgery are just some of the specialties represented by our multidisciplinary physician team. Using liver transplant as a treatment for bile duct cancer has revolutionized the way our team is able to treat cholangiocarcinoma and offers hope to patients and a chance of long-term survival that cannot be offered with any other treatment.

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