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Computed Tomography

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Biliary Tract and Gallbladder Cancer

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Radiat Oncol))

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Abstract

Cross-sectional imaging with multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) is an essential tool in the evaluation of patients with gallbladder and biliary tract cancers. The biliary tract cancers are a combination of three distinct classes of tumors: (i) intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, (ii) proximal intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and (iii) distal cholangiocarcinoma. These cancers share the unfortunate feature of having a poor prognosis unless surgical intervention is possible. The pre-operative evaluation of these tumors with MSCT with high quality imaging provides required information for the assessment of therapeutic options. The imaging varies depending on the type of tumor. The image interpretation will assist in patient stratification and tumor staging. This chapter presents a brief summary of the epidemiology and clinical presentation of the various biliary cancers. In addition, the specific imaging protocol for the various biliary cancers is presented. The imaging findings for correct interpretation and the role of imaging in staging is described. For each tumor, the imaging characteristics of tumor and tumor growth are described as well as the findings for the detection of nodal and distant metastatic disease. Finally, the role of MSCT in treatment response and surveillance is presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR, 00936-5067, USA

    Gory Ballester-Ortiz

  2. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Unit 1473, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Leonardo Marcal, Chitra Viswanathan & Janio Szklaruk

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  1. Gory Ballester-Ortiz
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  2. Leonardo Marcal
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  3. Chitra Viswanathan
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  4. Janio Szklaruk
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Correspondence to Janio Szklaruk .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Joseph M. Herman

  2. Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Timothy M. Pawlik

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Charles R. Thomas, Jr.

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Ballester-Ortiz, G., Marcal, L., Viswanathan, C., Szklaruk, J. (2014). Computed Tomography. In: Herman, J., Pawlik, T., Thomas, Jr., C. (eds) Biliary Tract and Gallbladder Cancer. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40558-7_12

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