Review
Oncology
Yaoqun Wang, Ningyuan Wen, Shaofeng Wang, Guilin Nie, Yuan Tian, Jiong Lu, Bei Li
Summary: This study comprehensively evaluated the safety and effectiveness of various chemotherapy schemes for the treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer. The results showed some promising outcomes, but most of the evidence is still at low or very low levels. More randomized controlled studies are needed to further summarize high levels of evidence.
Article
Oncology
Carissa Beaulieu, Arthur Lui, Dimas Yusuf, Zainab Abdelaziz, Brock Randolph, Eugene Batuyong, Sunita Ghosh, Oliver F. Bathe, Vincent Tam, Jennifer L. Spratlin
Summary: Biliary tract cancers have poor survival rates, with worse outcomes seen in higher stage and poorer performance status patients across all tumor subtypes. Tumor resectability at diagnosis is associated with better overall survival. The use of gemcitabine+cisplatin as a first-line palliative chemotherapy regimen is supported, as patients treated in Alberta have comparable outcomes to those in the ABC-02 phase III study.
Article
Oncology
Chiao-En Wu, Wen-Kuan Huang, Wen-Chi Chou, Chia-Hsun Hsieh, John Wen-Cheng Chang, Cheng-Yu Lin, Chun-Nan Yeh, Jen-Shi Chen
Summary: Developing a simple tool utilizing pretreatment factors like gender, monocyte to lymphocyte ratio, alkaline phosphatase, and liver metastasis to predict the 6-month mortality rate of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer is important for assisting physicians in treatment evaluation. The established nomogram showed promising and feasible performance in predicting mortality risk, providing additional information for clinicians and patients.
Review
Oncology
Alice Boileve, Marc Hilmi, Cristina Smolenschi, Michel Ducreux, Antoine Hollebecque, David Malka
Summary: In the past decade, immune therapies have ushered in a new era in oncology, but their clinical activity in biliary tract cancers, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, is limited and largely investigational. Patients with microsatellite-instable tumors have shown some positive responses, but the majority of biliary tract cancer patients still face poor prognoses. Predictive biomarkers are being explored to improve patient selection for immunotherapy, including exploring combinations with other treatment modalities to enhance efficacy.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Simone Conci, Giovanni Catalano, Diletta Roman, Camilla Zecchetto, Eleonora Lucin, Mario De Bellis, Marzia Tripepi, Alfredo Guglielmi, Michele Milella, Andrea Ruzzenente
Summary: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are a group of malignancies with limited treatment options. Immunotherapy and liquid biopsy approaches, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis, show promise in improving diagnosis and treatment response in BTCs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Ruveyda Ayasun, Muhammet Ozer, Ilyas Sahin
Summary: Despite being traditionally difficult to treat with poor prognosis, recent advancements in genomic technologies have revolutionized cancer management and provided insights into the genomic landscape of biliary tract cancers (BTCs). Ongoing clinical trials are assessing the effectiveness of HER2-blocking antibodies or drug conjugates in BTCs with HER2 amplifications. However, HER2 amplifications may not be the only eligibility factor for these trials. This review comprehensively examines the role of somatic HER2 alterations and amplifications in patient stratification and provides an overview of current clinical trials.
Review
Oncology
Joanna Kefas, John Bridgewater, Arndt Vogel, Alexander Stein, John Primrose
Summary: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs), including cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer, are rare, aggressive tumors with poor prognosis. Surgical resection is the only potentially curative option, but only a small percentage of cases are resectable. Adjuvant therapy has been widely used, and recent evidence supports the use of adjuvant capecitabine as the standard of care. However, further research is needed to determine the role of adjuvant therapy and to identify potential future treatment options.
THERAPEUTIC ADVANCES IN MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Massimiliano Salati, Luigi Marcheselli, Carlo Messina, Valeria Merz, Marco Messina, Pietro Carotenuto, Francesco Caputo, Fabio Gelsomino, Andrea Spallanzani, Luca Reggiani Bonetti, Stefania Caramaschi, Gabriele Luppi, Massimo Dominici, Michele Ghidini
Summary: The study developed a scoring system that can stratify the risk of advanced biliary cancer patients treated with second-line chemotherapy. The scoring system identified different risk groups with distinct overall survival. The system was validated in a multicenter cohort of ABC cases.
CANCER MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Yun-cheng Li, Kang-shuai Li, Zeng-li Liu, Yong-chang Tang, Xiao-Qiang Hu, Xing-yong Li, An-da Shi, Li-ming Zhao, Li-Zhuang Shu, Shuo Lian, Zhang-di Yan, Shao-hui Huang, Guo-li Sheng, Yan Song, Yun-jia Liu, Fan Huan, Ming-hui Zhang, Zong-li Zhang
Summary: Biliary tract cancers, including cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma, originate from the biliary epithelium and have a poor prognosis. Surgery is the only choice for cure in the early stage of disease, and early diagnosis could significantly improve the prognosis of patients. Bile components are closely related to the occurrence and development of biliary tract tumors and may be applied as biomarkers for BTCs.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Kanglian Zheng, Shijie Fu, Boyu Leng, Yong Cui, Renjie Yang, Guang Cao, Liang Xu, Wen-Qing Li, Ying Li, Xu Zhu, Song Gao, Peng Liu, Xiaodong Wang
Summary: This study evaluated the predictive value of signal enhancement ratio (SER) and its early change in contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) for survival in biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients after hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC). The results showed that a SER0 cutoff value of 1.04 was associated with longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in BTC patients. Additionally, a positive change in SER after two cycles of HAIC was also associated with longer OS. Multivariate analysis identified SER0 and HAIC treatment cycle as independent predictors of longer survival.
INSIGHTS INTO IMAGING
(2022)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Margaret Sutherland, Osama Ahmed, Adnan Zaidi, Shahid Ahmed
Summary: Biliary tract cancers are heterogeneous with high mortality rates in advanced stages. Recent advancements in targeted therapy and immunotherapy have shown promising responses. The future of personalized medicine holds great potential in improving the treatment outcomes for BTC patients.
JOURNAL OF HEPATO-BILIARY-PANCREATIC SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Yi Yu, Shanshan Huang, Jun Chen, Feng Yu, Lin Zhang, Xiaojun Xiang, Jun Deng, Ziling Fang, Junhe Li, Jianping Xiong
Summary: The study assessed the combination of camrelizumab with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for metastatic BTCs, showing acceptable safety and efficacy in the pilot study. However, further prospective controlled clinical trials comparing this combination with standard regimens are needed to confirm these findings.
Review
Oncology
Sandra Kang, Bassel F. El-Rayes, Mehmet Akce
Summary: Biliary tract cancers are rare and aggressive tumors that are refractory to chemotherapy. Molecular targeted agents and immunotherapy have emerged as promising treatment options, potentially improving survival outcomes for patients.
Review
Oncology
Lindsay A. Hunter, Heloisa P. Soares
Summary: This review explores the poor prognosis and potential complications of advanced biliary tract carcinomas, as well as the available strategies to manage adverse events. It also highlights the impact of both tumor- and treatment-related symptoms on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of BTC patients.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
G. L. Yao, Y. G. Fan
Summary: This study provides insights into the effectiveness and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with biliary tract cancers, particularly those with high PD-L1 expression. The results highlight the importance of precise determination of PD-L1 expression as a predictive factor for treatment response.
