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Review
. 2021 Oct 27:13:8085-8098.
doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S276104. eCollection 2021.

Optimal Management of Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma: An Evidence-Based Review

Affiliations
Review

Optimal Management of Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma: An Evidence-Based Review

Dina Ioffe et al. Cancer Manag Res. .

Abstract

Cholangiocarcinomas are rare tumors originating at any point along the biliary tree. These tumors often pose significant challenges for diagnosis and treatment, and often carry a poor prognosis. However, in recent years, studies have identified significant molecular heterogeneity with up to 50% of tumors having detectable mutations, leading to the guideline recommendations for molecular testing as part of the diagnostic workup for these tumors. In addition, better classification of these tumors and understanding of their biology has led to new drugs being approved for treatment of this resistant tumor. This manuscript will provide a comprehensive review of the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic approach, molecular classification, and treatment options for patients with advanced cholangiocarcinomas.

Keywords: chemotherapy; cholangiocarcinoma; detectable mutations; molecular; targeted therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr Efrat Dotan reports grants and/or personal fees from Pfizer, Lilly, Incyte, AstraZeneca, MedImmune, Boston Biomedical (SDP), QED, and Basilea, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cholangiocarcinoma subtypes.

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