Prior ultrasonography findings tied to cholangiocarcinoma diagnosis

A history of abnormalities found during ultrasonography appears to aggravate the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), particularly among those with dilated bile ducts (DBD) and liver mass (LM), reports a recent Thailand study.

Researchers enrolled 1,880 patients (mean age 60.2 years, 59.9 percent men) who had undergone ultrasonography, which found 26.9 percent of participants with LM and 24.4 percent with DBD. CCA was diagnosed in 672 participants (35.74 percent).

Logistic regression analysis found that participants aged ≥60 years were nearly 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with CCA (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.46, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.07–2.01; p=0.049).

Similarly, those with hepatobiliary abnormalities as determined by ultrasonography were at a greater likelihood of CCA diagnosis. LM, for instance, aggravated such risk by more than two times (adjusted OR, 2.28, 95 percent CI, 1.81–2.86), while DBD increased it by over threefold (adjusted OR, 3.46, 95 percent CI, 2.74–4.36).

Liver parenchymal change was likewise identified as a significant correlate of CCA, increasing its likelihood by over 200 percent (adjusted OR, 2.12, 95 percent CI, 1.46–3.06; p<0.001 for all). “These liver and bile ducts abnormalities can be very important indicators for CCA,” the researchers said.

“Therefore, we recommend that screening for CCA in populations living in high-risk areas, as well as the general population, should focus on finding early symptoms to detect suspected CCA that could develop into CCA such as liver and bile ducts abnormalities through ultrasonography diagnosis,” they added.