Although each year more than 5,800 cases of cholangiocarcinoma are diagnosed in our country, the majority of the people have never heard of this tumor, which is located in the in the bile ducts of the liver. Traditionally characterized as a rare tumor, in recent years the incidence of this tumor has increased and, therefore, conferences such as European Advanced User 2018, to be held in Prague on March 8 and 9, in which Dr. Jose Maria Vieitez, head of the Digestive Tumors Section of the Medical Oncology Service at MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid – Hospiten, will participate, are even more relevant.
Cholangiocarcinoma originates in the bile ducts of the liver, so it is considered a primary liver tumor, a classification that also includes hepatocellular carcinoma, which is known as liver cancer among the general public.
The main difficulty in the diagnosis of these tumors, explains the specialist, is that "there are no symptoms or biomarkers to make us suspect in an analysis that there is a tumor of this type". In addition, because there are no validated biomarkers, it is not possible to screen for this type of tumor, so professionals can only "monitor diseased livers, in which cholangiocarcinoma or hepatocarcinoma are more likely to appear".
Given the difficulty in diagnosis, cholangiocarcinoma is detected in fairly advanced stages in most cases, which worsens the prognosis of patients. As Dr. Vieitez points out, "it is a tumor that, if detected early and is operable, can be cured". But the problem is when the tumor is non-resectable, that is, it cannot be treated surgically, because in that case, the doctor points out, "although there is a first choice of consolidated treatment combining two cytostatics, the other available tools available are much less scientifically consistent".
And hence the need to investigate new surgical and pharmacological treatment options that can help improve the survival rate and quality of life of these patients.