This February, we recognized Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month – an important time to raise awareness about this rare and aggressive gastrointestinal cancer. While this month is coming to a close, learn how you can continue to raise awareness and support year-round for those affected by this disease.
Cholangiocarcinoma is one type of biliary tract cancer (BTC) that forms in the bile duct and impacts the system of passageways that transport bile to help your body digest food.1-3
Know the Basics
BTCs are typically diagnosed in advanced stages, and symptoms often don’t appear in early disease. When symptoms do appear, they are frequently non-specific and hence associated with other more common diseases, which may result in delays in diagnosis to when the disease is more advanced and outcomes are poor.1,4
Approximately 23,000 people in the US are diagnosed with BTCs each year, with diagnosis and treatment remaining a major challenge globally for patients and their doctors.2,5 This is why we’re focused on supporting this community and continuing to raise awareness among physicians, patients, and caregivers, while also focusing on advancing science.
Help Continue to Make an Impact
At AstraZeneca, we are committed to forging the path to improve care for those living with difficult to treat cancers. One way we are making this happen is through close partnerships with advocacy organizations, like the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF), that allow us to connect and learn directly from the patient community. Together, we are raising awareness and helping to mitigate the gaps and barriers in detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.
This month, and every month, we are dedicated to advocating for the cholangiocarcinoma community and expanding the way we collaborate with partners to make a meaningful difference for patients and their loved ones.
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1 Benavides M, Antón A, Gallego J, et al. Biliary tract cancers: SEOM clinical guidelines. Clin Transl Oncol. 2015;17(12):982-987.
2 Bridgewater JA, Goodman KA, Kalyan A, Mulcahy MF. Biliary tract cancer: epidemiology, radiotherapy, and molecular profiling. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2016;35:e194-e203.
3 ACS. What is bile duct cancer? Available At: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/bile-duct-cancer/about/what-is-bile-duct-cancer.html. Accessed February 2023.
4 ACS. Signs and Symptoms of Bile Duct Cancer. Available At:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/bile-duct-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/signs-symptoms.html. Accessed February 2023.
5 Marcano-Bonilla L, Mohamed EA, Mounajjed T, Roberts LR. Biliary tract cancers: epidemiology, molecular pathogenesis and genetic risk associations. Chin Clin Oncol. 2016;5(5):61.