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Development of molecularly targeted therapies in biliary tract cancers: Reassessing the challenges and opportunities
Author(s) -
Zhu Andrew X.,
Hezel Aram F.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.24145
Subject(s) - biliary tract cancer , biliary tract , medicine , oncology , cancer , gemcitabine
Biliary tract cancers (BTCs), which encompass intra‐ and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas as well as gallbladder carcinomas, are a genetically diverse collection of cancers. Most patients with BTC will present with unresectable or metastatic disease. Although the standard systemic chemotherapy approaches are emerging, the prognosis remains poor. Development of molecularly targeted therapies in advanced BTC remains challenging. Recent early‐stage clinical trials with targeted therapies appear promising, although the relationships between subsets of patients with positive responses to therapy and tumor genetics remain unexplored. Here we summarize the relevant molecular pathogenesis, recent and ongoing clinical trials with targeted agents, and the key issues in clinical trial design in BTC. (H EPATOLOGY 2011;53:695‐704)