How is ampullary cancer treated?

How is ampullary cancer treated?

There are a few different options for treating ampullary cancer. Treatment recommendations will depend on the location, size and stage of your cancer and your overall health and healing capacity. Ampullary cancer treatment options include:

• Endoscopic surgery. Early stage ampullary cancers can sometimes be removed using this option. During endoscopic surgery, your surgeon removes cancer cells using tools passed through an endoscope (a small tube commonly used in minimally invasive procedures).
• Whipple procedure. This surgical procedure — also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy — is used to remove your gallbladder, part of your bile duct, a portion of your small intestine and the head of your pancreas.
• Chemotherapy. This approach uses cancer-killing drugs to target ampullary cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often used after surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells. But it may also be used to slow the growth of the tumor.
• Combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is often used with radiation therapy in the treatment of ampullary cancers. Radiation therapy uses powerful beams of energy to target cancer cells. This combination may be used before surgery to shrink your tumor, or after surgery to kill remaining cancer cells.
• Treatments focused on reducing uncomfortable symptoms. When other treatments don’t help, your provider may recommend placing a stent (a small wire mesh tube) in your bile duct to reduce jaundice and other symptoms.