What to Know About Chemotherapy for Bile Duct Cancer

Chemotherapy drugs kill all fast-growing cells, including cancer cells.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. With bile duct cancer, chemotherapy may be used for these reasons:

• to help shrink tumors to relieve symptoms - this may be done for advanced bile duct cancer, where cancer has spread

• to help control the cancer when you can’t have surgery

• after stent placement

• before surgery to make tumors smaller and easier to remove - this is done less often and it has better results when combined with radiation

When anticancer drugs are injected into a vein or given by mouth, they enter the bloodstream and reach all areas of the body. This is called systemic treatment. These are drugs that have been used for bile duct cancer. They are given either as single agents or in combination.

• Adrucil (fluorouracil, 5-FU)

• Xeloda (capecitabine)

• Gemzar (gemcitabine)

• Platinol (cisplatin)

• Adriamycin (doxorubicin)

• Eloxatin (oxaliplatin)

• Camptosar (irinotecan)

Researchers are continuing to look at new and more effective types of chemotherapy for the treatment of bile duct cancer. Ask your doctor if you should consider enrolling in a clinical trial.