Cholangiocarcinoma:principles and current trends

BACKGROUND:Cholangiocarcinoma(CCA)is a lethal cancer of the biliary epithelium,originating from the liver(intrahepatic),at the confluence of the right and left hepatic ducts(hilar)or in the extrahepatic bile ducts.It is a rare malignancy associated with poor prognosis.DATA SOURCES:We searched the PubMed/MEDLINE database for relevant articles published from 1989 to 2008.The search terms used were related to 'cholangiocarcinoma' and its ' treatment'.Although no language restrictions were imposed initially,for the full-text review and final analysis,our resources only permitted the review of articles published in English.This review deals with the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma,the principles and the current trends.RESULTS:The risks and prognostic factors,symptoms and differential diagnosis are thoroughly discussed.In addition,the tools of preoperative diagnosis such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography,digital image analysis,fluorescence in situ hybridization and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography are reviewed.Moreover,the treatment of CCA is discussed.CONCLUSIONS:The only curative treatment available is surgical management.Unfortunately,many patients present with unresectable tumors,the majority of whom die within a year of diagnosis.Surgical treatment involves major resections of the liver,pancreas and bile duct,with considerable mortality and morbidity.However,in selected cases and where indicated,appropriate management with aggressive surgery may achieve a good outcome with a prolonged survival expectancy.

Radical resection of pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PCa) is a disease with dismal prognosis, and the only possibility of cure, albeit small, is based on the combination of complete resection with negative histopathological margins (R0 resection) with adjuvant treatment. Therefore, a lot of effort has been made during the last decade to assess the role of extensive surgery in both local recurrence and survival of patients with PCa. DATA SOURCES: Medline search and manual cross- referencing were utilized to identify published evidence- based data for PCa surgery between 1973 and 2006, with emphasis to feasibility, efficacy, long-term survival, disease free survival, recurrence rates, pain relief and quality of life. RESULTS: Extended surgery is safe and feasible in high volume surgical centers with comparable short-term results. Organ preserving surgery is a main goal because of quality of life reasons and is performed whenever possible from the tumor extent. Concerning long-term survival major vein resection does not adversely affect outcome. To date, there are no changes in long-term survival attributed to the extended lymph node dissection. However, there is a benefit in locoregional control with fewer local recurrences and extended lymphadenectomy allows better staging for the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Extended PCa surgery is safe and feasible despite the inconclusive results in patient’s survival benefit. In the future, appropriately powered randomized trials of standard vs. extended resections may show improved outcomes for PCa patients.