What Causes Excessive Fluid Retention In The Body While Treating Stage-4 Cholangiocarcinoma?

Posted on Mon, 16 Jan 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 Answered on

Thu, 2 Feb 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : My wife has a Klatsin tumor stage IV. She has had chemo and radiation, and is now having Chemo again. My concern is that she is retaining a lot of fluid. We estimate it to be about 30 pounds worth. Is this normal? Does the fluid retention present more serious problems?

Answered by Dr. Deepak Sundriyal (12 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Hello dear. It may indicate disease progression

Detailed Answer:
hello dear. I have gone through the details. So if the fluid is being retained in abdomen(which we call ascitis), then it may be a sign of disease progression. If fluid retention is generalised (all over the body), then it may indicate low albumin level of the body. Sometimes it may also indicate kidney dysfunction.
A liver and kidney function tests can rule out hypoalbuminemia and renal dysfunction as the cause of fluid retention. For disease progression, a ct scan can be done and compared with previous scan.
Thanks and regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad