Symptoms of bile duct cancer
Bile duct cancer may not cause any symptoms in the early stages. If you do have symptoms, they can include:
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yellowing of the skin and the white of your eyes - this is called jaundice
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changes to the colour of your poo and pee
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itchy skin
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a high temperature - also called a fever
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pain in the tummy (abdomen)
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weight loss
There are many other conditions that cause these symptoms. Most of them are much more common than bile duct cancer.
See your GP if you have any of these symptoms. Although your symptoms are unlikely to be bile duct cancer, it is important to get them checked by a doctor.
About the symptoms
The symptoms of bile duct cancer depend on where the cancer is in the bile ducts.
The perihilar and distal bile ducts are outside the liver. Cancer that starts in these ducts, or that blocks the drainage of bile from the liver, can cause jaundice.
The intrahepatic bile ducts are inside the liver. Cancers that start here might make you feel generally unwell. But they often don’t cause any specific symptoms until they are more advanced. When they do cause symptoms they can include:
- weight loss
- abdominal pain
Jaundice
If a cancer blocks the bile ducts it can stop bile flowing into the bowel. The bile goes into your bloodstream and tissues instead. This makes your skin and the white of your eyes turn yellow. The yellow colour is caused by the pigments in the bile.
Jaundice can also give you:
- light coloured poo
- dark coloured pee
- itchy skin
- a fever - this can be a sign of inflammation or an infection and may make you feel cold and shivery
Weight loss
Unexplained weight loss can be a symptom of bile duct cancer.
Doctors define unintentional weight loss as losing between 5% and 10% of your body weight for no obvious reason. This is the same as losing half to 1 stone for every 10 stones that you weigh. Or 3 to 6kg for every 60kg that you weigh.
See your doctor if you are losing weight and you don’t know why.
Pain in your abdomen
Pain in the abdomen is a common symptom of bile duct cancer. The pain is usually on your right hand side, just below your ribs.
It's important to remember that this type of pain can be caused by other less serious conditions, such as gallstones.
