Advances in Cholangiocarcinoma Treatment in the Personalized Medicine Era

Abstract

Cholangiocarcinoma is among the liver’s most common primary
tumors, second only to hepatocellular carcinoma, and it accounts
for approximately 15% of primary hepatic malignancies. Cholangiocarcinomas are sub-classified into intrahepatic (ICCA) and extrahepatic (ECCA), according to their anatomical location. Regardless of their location, cholangiocarcinomas are associated with a poor outcome, mainly because of the lack of effective therapy options and how advanced the disease is at the time of diagnosis, making it difficult to control with surgical resection. The American Cancer Society determined a 5-year relative survival
rate of 8% for all patients with intrahepatic bile duct cancer and 10% for its extrahepatic counterpart, with the best survival rate seen on patients with localized disease, 24% for ICCA and 15% for ECCA [1-3].