• Special Issue Topic

    Precision Medicine for Cholangiocarcinoma

    Submission Deadline: September 30, 2021

    Guest Editor

    Prof. Lorenza Rimassa E-Mail

    Associate Professor of Medical Oncology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University; Deputy Director, Medical Oncology Unit, Humanitas Cancer Center, Humanitas Research Hospital, IRCCS, Milano, Italy

    Research Keywords: liver cancer; hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); cholangiocarcinoma (CCA)/biliary tract cancer (BTC); biomarkers; clinical trials


    About the Special Issue

    The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is increasing in the last years, patients are frequently diagnosed with advanced disease, relapse rates are high also in those undergoing surgery, thus prognosis remains poor. Unfortunately, treatment options have been historically limited, and chemotherapy is still the standard of care in both the adjuvant and advanced setting. However, more recently, different subtypes of CCA have been defined based on the anatomical site and genetic and/or epigenetic aberrations. Thanks to the improving knowledge of CCA biology and molecular heterogeneity, especially for intrahepatic CCA, novel therapeutic targets have been identified and molecularly targeted agents have shown evidence of activity with a good safety profile. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene fusions and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations are the most studied targets and novel agents have been demonstrated active in phase 2 and 3 trials in patients with CCA harboring these aberrations. In addition, other pathways are being tested not only in intrahepatic CCA but also in other subtypes of biliary tract cancers. Finally, immunological characterization of the tumor and the microenvironment, albeit with mixed results, is paving the way for the development of potential immunotherapeutic strategies. In summary, the growing knowledge of CCA biology will allow to develop new therapeutic approaches that will deeply change the treatment paradigm for this disease in the near future.
    This special issue is focused on precision medicine for patients with CCA, including new targets, emerging therapies, resistance mechanisms, open issues, and future perspectives, with the aim to improve the management and the prognosis of patients with CCA.

    Keywords: cholangiocarcinoma; biliary tract cancer; molecular heterogeneity; genetic/epigenetic aberrations; novel targets; immune microenvironment; novel agents

    Published Articles

    Open Access
    Case Report
    Cystic presentation of primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumour: a case report with a brief review of literature
    Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are a rare type of tumours that arise from the neuroendocrine cells which are distributed throughout the body. Of all the gastrointestinal tumours only 1–2% account for NETs. They have an extremely  [...] Read more.
    Mangesh Londhe ... Charusheela Gore
    Published: April 26, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:266–272
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00133
    Open Access
    Review
    Genomic alterations in cholangiocarcinoma: clinical significance and relevance to therapy
    Improving the survival of patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has long proved challenging, although the treatment of this disease nowadays is on advancement. The historical invariability of survi [...] Read more.
    Marianeve Carotenuto ... Nicola Normanno
    Published: April 26, 2022 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2022;3:200–223
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2022.00079
    View:2286
    Download:57
    Open Access
    Case Report
    Liver venous deprivation for resection of advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma—a case report and review of the literature
    Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is a rare primary malignancy associated with a dismal prognosis. Currently, complete extended right or left-sided hepatectomy is the primary curative therapy. Achieving a ne [...] Read more.
    Radoslava Stoyanova ... Alexander Klaus
    Published: February 28, 2022 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2022;3:90–96
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2022.00073
    View:1250
    Download:50
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Review
    A review of molecularly targeted therapy in biliary tract carcinoma: what is the next step?
    Patients with unresectable biliary tract carcinomas (BTCs) have a poor prognosis with a median overall survival of fewer than 12 months following systemic chemotherapy. In recent years, the identifi [...] Read more.
    Giacomo Aimar ... Massimo Di Maio
    Published: October 31, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:448–464
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2021.00056
    View:1777
    Download:79
    Open Access
    Review
    Current options and future directions of systemic therapy for advanced biliary tract cancer
    Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are aggressive tumors arising from different portions of the biliary tree and classified according to the anatomical location in intrahepatic (i) cholangiocarcinoma (CCA [...] Read more.
    Maria Giuseppina Prete ... Lorenza Rimassa
    Published: October 31, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:416–433
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2021.00054
    View:2643
    Download:79
    Open Access
    Review
    Targeting protein kinase CK2 in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma
    Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a disease with a very poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Although targeted therapies directed towards specific mutations found in CCA are becoming available an [...] Read more.
    Padma-Sheela Jayaraman, Kevin Gaston
    Published: October 31, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:434–447
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2021.00055
    View:1838
    Download:65