Cholangiocarcinoma - Epidemiology

Epidemiology

Cholangiocarcinoma is an adenocarcinoma of the biliary tract, along with pancreatic cancer (which occurs about 20 times more frequently), gall bladder cancer (which occurs twice as often), and cancer of the ampulla of Vater. Treatments and clinical trials for pancreatic cancer, being far more prevalent, are often taken as a starting point for managing cholangiocarcinoma, even though the biologies are different enough that chemotherapies can put pancreatic cancer into permanent remission whereas there are no reports in the literature of long-term survival due to chemotherapy or radiation applied to an inoperable cholangiocarcinoma case.

Cholangiocarcinoma is a relatively rare form of cancer; each year, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States, translating into an annual incidence of 1–2 cases per 100,000 people. Autopsy series have reported a prevalence of 0.01% to 0.46%. There is a higher prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in Asia, which has been attributed to endemic chronic parasitic infestation. The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma increases with age, and the disease is slightly more common in men than in women (possibly due to the higher rate of primary sclerosing cholangitis, a major risk factor, in men). The prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis may be as high as 30%, based on autopsy studies.

Multiple studies have documented a steady increase in the incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma over the past several decades; increases have been seen in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The reasons for the increasing occurrence of cholangiocarcinoma are unclear; improved diagnostic methods may be partially responsible, but the prevalence of potential risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma, such as HIV infection, has also been increasing during this time frame.