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The case for immune‐based approaches in biliary tract carcinoma
Author(s) -
Duffy Austin G.,
MakarovaRusher Oxana V.,
Greten Tim F.
Publication year - 2016
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.28635
Subject(s) - etiology , immune system , biliary tract , gastrointestinal tract , medicine , immunology
Biliary tract cancers (BTC) comprise a group of uncommon malignancies in which the standard therapies are minimally effective and evolve slowly. Like the majority of gastrointestinal cancers, with some notable exceptions, the impact of immune‐based approaches has yet to be seen. However, the etiological background of BTC—overlapping in almost every known causative or associated factor with inflammation—provides a strong clue that these approaches may have an impact in this group of diseases. This review covers what we currently know about the role of the immune system in the etiology of BTC, highlighting differences by subtype, and pointing to the therapeutic opportunities currently entering the clinic or about to do so. (H epatology 2016;64:1785‐1791)