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Learn about the risk factors for bile duct cancer and what you might be able to do to help lower your risk.

What causes bile duct cancer?

We don’t know the exact cause of most bile duct cancers, but we do know some of the risk factors that make a person more likely to develop these cancers.

There seems to be a link between bile duct cancer and things that irritate and inflame the bile ducts. These may be bile duct stones, infection with a parasite, or something else.

Gene changes and bile duct cancer

Bile duct cancer can be linked to changes in certain genes. Here's what we know about how those changes happen.

Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes

Scientists are starting to understand how inflammation might lead to certain changes in the DNA. These changes can cause cells to grow out of control and form cancers. DNA is the chemical in every cell that makes up genes. Genes are the instructions for how cells function.

• Genes that help cells grow and divide into new cells are called oncogenes.
• Genes that slow down cell division or cause cells to die at the right time are called tumor suppressor genes.

Cancers can be caused by DNA changes (mutations) that turn on oncogenes or turn off tumor suppressor genes. Changes in many different genes are usually needed for a cell to become cancer.

Acquired gene changes

Gene mutations related to bile duct cancers are usually acquired during life rather than inherited. Some of the gene changes that lead to bile duct cancer might be caused by inflammation in the bile ducts, such as from primary sclerosing cholangitis or a liver fluke infection. But often the cause is not known. Many gene changes might just be random events that sometimes happen inside a cell, without having an outside cause.

Some acquired gene changes are found more often in bile duct cancers. These include changes in:

• TP53 and KRAS
• IDH1
• FGFR2 (often a fusion, where part of the FGFR2 gene joins with part of another gene)
• HER2 (also called ERBB2)
• BRAF V600E

Less often, bile duct cancers might have fusions in the NTRK, RET, or NRG1 genes, or have certain other biomarker features, such as a high level of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) or a high tumor mutational burden (TMB-H).

Learn more about Biomarker and Tumor Marker Testing.

Which changes are most common depends partly on where the cancer starts: inside the liver (intrahepatic) or outside it (extrahepatic). Some of these changes can be targeted with certain drugs, which is why doctors often test bile duct cancers for gene changes.

Inherited gene changes

We usually look like our parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than how we look. Some people inherit DNA changes (mutations) from their parents that greatly increase their risk for certain cancers.

Genetic disorders linked with an increased risk of bile duct cancer include:

• Lynch syndrome
• BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome
• Cystic fibrosis
• Multiple biliary papillomatosis

Bile duct cancer risk factors

A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease like cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be changed. Others, like your age or family history, can’t be changed.

Scientists have found a few risk factors that make a person more likely to develop bile duct cancer.

But having a risk factor, or even many risk factors, does not mean that a person will get the disease. And many people who get the disease have few or no known risk factors

Knowing about the risk factors for bile duct cancer can help you find out if there are things you can do that might help lower your risk.

Certain diseases of the liver or bile ducts

Certain conditions of the liver or bile ducts have been found to either cause bile duct cancer or to increase the risk of developing it.

Inherited and personal risk factors

Lifestyle, health, and exposure factors

Other possible risk factors

Studies have found other factors may also increase the risk of bile duct cancer. But for these factors, the link to bile duct cancer risk is not as clear.

Other possible risk factors include:

• Smoking
• Chronic pancreatitis (long-term inflammation of the pancreas)
• Infection with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS)
• Exposure to asbestos
• Exposure to radon or other radioactive chemicals
• Exposure to dioxin, nitrosamines, or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) People who work in rubber plants and automotive industries may be exposed more often to these chemicals.

Can bile duct cancer be prevented?

There's no known way to prevent most bile duct cancers in the US. Many of the known risk factors for bile duct cancer, such as age, ethnicity, and differences in how the bile ducts formed before birth, can’t be changed.  But there are things you can do that might help lower your risk.

Diet and physical activity

Getting to and staying at a healthy weight is one important way you might be able to reduce your risk of bile duct cancer, as well as many other types of cancer.

The 糖心TV官网 Cancer Society recommends that people try to stay at a healthy weight, keep physically active, and follow a healthy eating pattern. This includes eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and limiting or avoiding red and processed meats, sugary drinks, and highly processed foods.

Other ways to reduce your risk

Other ways you might be able to reduce your risk of bile duct cancer include:

• Get vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) to prevent infection with the virus and the cirrhosis it can cause.
• Prevent infections by taking precautions to avoid blood-borne or sexually transmitted infections like HBV, hepatitis C, and other viruses that can cause cirrhosis.
• Treat hepatitis infections (such as B and C) to help prevent cirrhosis.
• Avoid or limit alcohol. It’s best not to drink alcohol. If you do drink, have no more than 1 drink per day for women or 2 drinks per day for men.
• Quit (or don’t start) smoking. Learn more about how to quit using tobacco.
• Avoid exposure to chemicals.
• Take precautions when you travel. If you travel to parts of the world where liver flukes are common, drink only purified water and eat only foods that have been thoroughly cooked.