An overview of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: from here to where?

Abstract

Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (eCCA) contains perihilar cholangiocarcinoma and distal cholangiocarcinoma both of which can arise at any point of the biliary tree and originate from disparate anatomical sites. Generally, the incidence of eCCA is increasing globally. Though surgical resection is the principal treatment of choice for the early stages of eCCA, optimal survival remains restricted by the high risk of recurrence when most patients are present with unresectable disease or distant metastasis. Furthermore, both intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity make it laborious to determine molecularly targeted therapies. In this review, we mainly focused on current findings in the field of eCCA, mostly including epidemiology, genomic abnormalities, molecular pathogenesis, tumor microenvironment, and other details while a summary of the biological mechanisms driving eCCA may shed light on intricate tumorigenesis and feasible treatment strategies.

Current Standards, Multidisciplinary Approaches, and Future Directions in the Management of Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

“…Extrahepatic CCA is further divided into distal (dCCA) and perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA). Distal CCA includes the common bile duct and distal ducts whereas pCCA arises from the second-order bile ducts down to the cystic duct [ 1 ]. Given their heterogeneity, BTCs have unique pathophysiology and molecular fingerprints, which have both prognostic and treatment implications.…”

Prognostic Significance of the Bone Marrow-to-Aorta Uptake Ratio on 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Patients with Cholangiocarcinoma

“…Furthermore, cholangiocarcinoma's high chemoresistance and recurrence rates contribute to an unfavorable prognosis, with median survival rates of 8.0 months and 16.6 months for patients with intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, respectively [4,6]. Therefore, non-invasive prognostic biomarkers that can stratify clinical outcomes and aid in determining treatment strategies are essential [7,8]. Cholangiocarcinomas are characterized by prominent desmoplastic stroma composed of various cell types, including immune cells [4].…”

Brucine suppresses proliferation and promotes apoptosis of human cholangiacarcinoma cells via the inhibition of COX2 expression

“…As the lethal cancer type, treatment strategies remain unsatisfactory. Patients are often diagnosed at late stages due to asymptomatic nature of ICC and not amenable to surgical resection which is the most usually used approach for a cure 3 . Therefore, understanding molecular mechanisms of ICC has been of momentous interest to promote early diagnosis and treatment of ICC.…”