Biliary Cirrhosis / Bile Duct Cancer Biliary cirrhosis is a rare
form of liver cirrhosis, caused by disease or defects of the
bile ducts. Symptoms usually include cholestasis (accumulation
of bile in the liver). There are two types of biliary cirrhosis:
- Primary biliary cirrhosis - inflammation and destruction of
bile ducts in the liver. This is usually due to an autoimmune
disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks
healthy tissues. - Secondary biliary cirrhosis - results from
prolonged bile duct obstruction or narrowing or closure of the
bile duct for other reasons, such as a tumor. Next to
gallstones, cancer is the most common cause of bile duct
obstruction. The majority of bile duct cancers develop in the
part of the ducts that are outside the liver and are sometimes
referred to as extrahepatic tumors. Most bile duct cancers are
adenocarcinomas which means they develop from the glandular
cells of the bile duct. The following are the most common
symptoms of bile duct cancer. However, each