{"entity":{"id":"cystic-duct-margin","kind":"term","name":"Cystic duct margin","aka":["Cystic duct stump margin","Bile duct margin in gallbladder cancer"],"tldr":"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.","asOf":"2026-09-24","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_duct","links":[{"label":"AHPBA expert consensus statement on gallbladder cancer (Aloia, HPB 2015)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1111/hpb.12444"},{"label":"Soreide, Br J Surg 2019: systematic review of incidental gallbladder cancer after cholecystectomy","url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bjs.11035"},{"label":"Yamaguchi, HPB 2005: frozen section of the bile duct margin in gallbladder and bile duct cancer","url":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13651820510028873"},{"label":"Kim, Cancer Res Treat 2025: stage evaluation of cystic duct cancer","url":"https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2024.660"}],"tags":["gallbladder","biliary"],"related":[],"cancers":["gallbladder","incidental-gallbladder-cancer","cystic-duct-carcinoma","gallbladder-carcinoma-in-situ-and-dysplasia"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["radical-cholecystectomy","resection-margins"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Pathology"},"route":"/terms/cystic-duct-margin/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"gallbladder-carcinoma-in-situ-and-dysplasia","kind":"cancer","name":"Carcinoma in situ and dysplasia of the gallbladder","route":"/cancers/gallbladder-carcinoma-in-situ-and-dysplasia/"},{"id":"cystic-duct-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Cystic duct carcinoma","route":"/cancers/cystic-duct-carcinoma/"},{"id":"gallbladder-adenocarcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Gallbladder adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/gallbladder-adenocarcinoma/"},{"id":"gallbladder","kind":"cancer","name":"Gallbladder cancer","route":"/cancers/gallbladder/"},{"id":"incidental-gallbladder-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Incidental gallbladder cancer (found after cholecystectomy)","route":"/cancers/incidental-gallbladder-cancer/"}],"term":[{"id":"radical-cholecystectomy","kind":"term","name":"Radical (extended) cholecystectomy","route":"/terms/radical-cholecystectomy/"},{"id":"resection-margins","kind":"term","name":"Resection margins (R0 / R1 / R2)","route":"/terms/resection-margins/"}],"technology":[{"id":"gallbladder-cancer-surgery","kind":"technology","name":"Surgery for gallbladder cancer: simple versus radical cholecystectomy, re-resection and lymphadenectomy","route":"/technologies/gallbladder-cancer-surgery/"}]}}