ExpBio: Blocked Bile Duct May Spur Cholangiocarcinoma
WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Bile duct obstruction may hasten the spread of ductal cancer to the liver and other body tissues, according to research presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2007 conference in Washington, D.C.
Alphonse Sirica, Ph.D., of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., and colleagues placed ductal cancer cells into the livers or proximal bile ducts of rats that had undergone bile duct ligation. They also placed ductal cancer cells into the livers of rats with intact bile ducts.
After three weeks, the researchers found that cancer cells accounted for more than half of the total liver mass in rats with bile duct obstruction compared to only 16 percent in rats with intact bile ducts. They also found that the cancer metastasized only in rats with bile duct obstruction.
"These results are of potential clinical significance, suggesting an important growth stimulatory mechanism for cholangiocarcinoma," the authors conclude.
