<unk>  is considered to be an incurable and rapidly lethal disease unless all the tumors can be fully resected (cut out surgically). Since the operability of the tumor can only be assessed during surgery in most cases, a majority of people undergo exploratory surgery unless there is already a clear indication that the tumor is inoperable. However, the Mayo Clinic has reported significant success treating early bile duct cancer with liver transplantation using a protocolized approach and strict selection criteria. Adjuvant therapy followed by liver transplantation may have a role in treatment of certain unresectable cases. Locoregional therapies including transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), transarterial radioembolization (TARE) and ablation therapies have a role in intrahepatic variants of<unk>  to provide palliation or potential cure in people who are not surgical candidates. Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy If the tumor can be removed surgically, people may receive adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy after the operation to improve the chances of cure. If the tissue margins are negative (i.e. the tumor has been totally excised), adjuvant therapy is of uncertain benefit. Both positive and negative results have been reported with adjuvant radiation therapy in this setting, and no prospective randomized controlled trials have been conducted as of March 2007. Adjuvant chemotherapy appears to be ineffective in people with completely resected tumors. The role of combined chemoradiotherapy in this setting is unclear. However, if the tumor tissue margins are positive, indicating that the tumor was not completely removed via surgery, then adjuvant therapy with radiation and possibly chemotherapy is generally recommended based on the available data. Treatment of advanced disease The majority of cases of<unk>  present as inoperable (unresectable) disease in which case people are generally treated with palliative chemotherapy, with or without radiotherapy. Chemotherapy has been shown in a randomized controlled trial to improve quality of life and extend survival in people with inoperable<unk> . There is no single chemotherapy regimen which is universally used, and enrollment in clinical trials is often recommended when possible. Chemotherapy agents used to treat<unk>  include 5-fluorouracil with leucovorin, gemcitabine as a single agent, or gemcitabine plus cisplatin, irinotecan, or capecitabine. A small pilot study suggested possible benefit from the tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib in people with advanced<unk> . Radiation therapy appears to prolong survival in people with resected extrahepatic<unk> , and the few reports of its use in unresectable<unk>  appear to show improved survival, but numbers are small. Infigratinib (Truseltiq) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) that was approved for medical use in the United States in May 2021. It is indicated for the treatment of people with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic<unk>  harboring an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement. Pemigatinib (Pemazyre) is a kinase inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) that was approved for medical use in the United States in April 2020. It is indicated for the treatment of adults with previously treated, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic<unk>  with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or other rearrangement as detected by an FDA-approved test. Ivodesinib (Tibsovo) is a small molecule inhibitor of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1. The FDA approved ivosidenib in August 2021 for adults with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic<unk>  with an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test. Durvalumab, (Imfinzi) is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that blocks the PD-L1 protein on the surface of immune cells, thereby allowing the immune system to recognize and attack tumor cells. In Phase III clinical trials, durvalumab, in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival and progression-free survival versus chemotherapy alone as a 1st-line treatment for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer.
Cholangiocarcinoma
Hepatoid tumor
Cholangiosarcoma
Periampullary cancer
Pancreatoblastoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Echinococcosis
Hepatoblastoma