Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2020 | Cystic Fibrosis | Case report
Rapidly progressive metastatic cholangiocarcinoma in a postpartum patient with cystic fibrosis: a case report
Published in: BMC Pulmonary Medicine | Issue 1/2020
Login to get accessAbstract
Background
Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare gastrointestinal malignancy that arises within the intrahepatic, perihilar, and/or extrahepatic bile ducts. Individuals with cystic fibrosis are at increased risk for gastrointestinal malignancies. The most common gastrointestinal malignancy in cystic fibrosis is colon cancer, but other gastrointestinal malignancies also occur at greater rates than the general population.
Case presentation
We present a case of a rapidly progressive metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in an individual with cystic fibrosis who was 5 months postpartum, incidentally found while undergoing a lung transplantation evaluation.
Conclusion
A heightened clinical awareness of gastrointestinal malignancies, beyond colon cancer, in individuals with cystic fibrosis is warranted. It remains unclear if pregnancy is an additional risk factor for gastrointestinal malignancies in cystic fibrosis.