The following is a summary of the “Integrating cytotoxic, targeted and immune therapies for cholangiocarcinoma,” published in the March 2023 issue of Hepatology by Merters, et al.
Treatment options for tumors of biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are developing quickly. The vast majority of patients are diagnosed at a late stage. Cisplatin plus gemcitabine (with durvalumab) chemotherapy is the gold standard, followed by second-line FOLFOX. Precision medicine has risen to the forefront in the care of advanced BTC thanks to targeted therapies for tumors harboring FGFR2 fusions, IDH1 mutations, BRAF V600E mutations, NTRK fusions, and/or HER2 (ERBB2) amplifications, among others.
Moreover, this is especially true for those who have intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Immunotherapy, combined with chemotherapy, has also recently demonstrated encouraging results. Now that progress has been made, treatment options go beyond chemotherapy and targeted therapies alone, with more and more attention being paid to the possibility that using these approaches together can yield even better results.
As a result, the current paradigm is shifting towards administering immunotherapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and targeted medicines simultaneously to maximize synergies.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168827822032962