# Cystic duct margin

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/cystic-duct-margin/  
OnCo record `cystic-duct-margin` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The cut end of the short duct that joined the gallbladder to the main bile duct, examined by the pathologist after a gallbladder is removed. If cancer cells reach this edge, part of the main bile duct usually has to be removed at a second operation; if it is clear, the bile duct can be left alone.

## Summary

The cystic duct margin is the resection margin closest to the extrahepatic bile duct in every cholecystectomy specimen. The AHPBA consensus asks pathologists in high-incidence areas to examine it in every routine specimen alongside at least three sections of wall, and, at re-resection for gallbladder cancer, to resect the bile duct only when needed to achieve a negative (R0) margin, in practice when the cystic duct margin is positive (Aloia 2015; Soreide 2019). Frozen section of the bile duct margin during surgery is used to decide the extent of resection and generally agrees with the final result (Yamaguchi 2005). A positive margin, or dysplasia running into the duct, is also how a cystic duct carcinoma may first be suspected (Kim 2025). Margin status is listed among the pathological findings on the gallbladder cancer page because it changes the operation.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Cystic duct stump margin; Bile duct margin in gallbladder cancer
- Tags: gallbladder; biliary

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_duct
- AHPBA expert consensus statement on gallbladder cancer (Aloia, HPB 2015): https://doi.org/10.1111/hpb.12444
- Soreide, Br J Surg 2019: systematic review of incidental gallbladder cancer after cholecystectomy: https://doi.org/10.1002/bjs.11035
- Yamaguchi, HPB 2005: frozen section of the bile duct margin in gallbladder and bile duct cancer: https://doi.org/10.1080/13651820510028873
- Kim, Cancer Res Treat 2025: stage evaluation of cystic duct cancer: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2024.660

## Connected records

- cancers: [Carcinoma in situ and dysplasia of the gallbladder](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder-carcinoma-in-situ-and-dysplasia/), [Cystic duct carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/cystic-duct-carcinoma/), [Gallbladder adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder-adenocarcinoma/), [Gallbladder cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder/), [Incidental gallbladder cancer (found after cholecystectomy)](https://onco.cc/cancers/incidental-gallbladder-cancer/)
- terms: [Radical (extended) cholecystectomy](https://onco.cc/terms/radical-cholecystectomy/), [Resection margins (R0 / R1 / R2)](https://onco.cc/terms/resection-margins/)
- technologies: [Surgery for gallbladder cancer: simple versus radical cholecystectomy, re-resection and lymphadenectomy](https://onco.cc/technologies/gallbladder-cancer-surgery/)

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