Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Sep 22;12(5):84-105.
doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v12.i5.84.

Cholangiocarcinoma and liver transplantation: What we know so far?

Ali Reza Safarpour  1 , Hassan Askari  1 , Farshid Ejtehadi  2 , Asaad Azarnezhad  3 , Ehsan Raeis-Abdollahi  4 , Amir Tajbakhsh  5 , Mohammad Foad Abazari  6 , Firoozeh Tarkesh  1 , Alireza Shamsaeefar  7 , Ramin Niknam  1 , Gholam Reza Sivandzadeh  1 , Kamran Bagheri Lankarani  8 , Fardad Ejtehadi  9
Affiliations
Review

Cholangiocarcinoma and liver transplantation: What we know so far?

Ali Reza Safarpour et al. World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. .

Abstract

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a type of cancer with increasing prevalence around the world that originates from cholangiocytes, the epithelial cells of the bile duct. The tumor begins insidiously and is distinguished by high grade neoplasm, poor outcome, and high risk for recurrence. Liver transplantation has become broadly accepted as a treatment option for CCA. Liver transplantation is expected to play a crucial role as palliative and curative therapy for unresectable hilar CCA and intrahepatic CCA. The purpose of this study was to determine which cases with CCA should be subjected to liver transplantation instead of resection, although reported post-transplant recurrence rate averages approximately 20%. This review also aims to highlight the molecular current frontiers of CCA and directions of liver transplantation for CCA.

Keywords: Cholangiocarcinoma; Liver transplantation; Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy; Primary sclerosing cholangitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Major signalling pathways involved in cholangiocarcinoma. The major signaling pathways involved in cholangiocarcinomas could be categorized into three main class: (1) Microenvironment and inflammation-related pathways; (2) Pathways related to proliferation/survival/death; and (3) Development-related pathways. TGF-β: Transforming growth factor-β; CCA: Cholangiocarcinoma; IL: Interleukin; FGFR2: Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2; PI3K: Phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase; ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinase; JAK/STAT: Janus kinase and signal transducer and activator of transcription.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rizvi S, Gores GJ. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of cholangiocarcinoma. Gastroenterology. 2013;145:1215–1229. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saha SK, Zhu AX, Fuchs CS, Brooks GA. Forty-Year Trends in Cholangiocarcinoma Incidence in the U.S.: Intrahepatic Disease on the Rise. Oncologist. 2016;21:594–599. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boberg KM, Lind GE. Primary sclerosing cholangitis and malignancy. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2011;25:753–764. - PubMed
    1. Boonstra K, Weersma RK, van Erpecum KJ, Rauws EA, Spanier BW, Poen AC, van Nieuwkerk KM, Drenth JP, Witteman BJ, Tuynman HA, Naber AH, Kingma PJ, van Buuren HR, van Hoek B, Vleggaar FP, van Geloven N, Beuers U, Ponsioen CY EpiPSCPBC Study Group. Population-based epidemiology, malignancy risk, and outcome of primary sclerosing cholangitis. Hepatology. 2013;58:2045–2055. - PubMed
    1. Boberg KM, Bergquist A, Mitchell S, Pares A, Rosina F, Broomé U, Chapman R, Fausa O, Egeland T, Rocca G, Schrumpf E. Cholangiocarcinoma in primary sclerosing cholangitis: risk factors and clinical presentation. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2002;37:1205–1211. - PubMed