TY - JOUR
T1 - Chemotherapy for the biliary tract cancers
T2 - Moving toward improved survival time
AU - Romiti, Adriana
AU - D'Antonio, Chiara
AU - Zullo, Angelo
AU - Sarcina, Ida
AU - Di Rocco, Roberta
AU - Barucca, Viola
AU - Durante, Valeria
AU - Marchetti, Paolo
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - Background: The biliary tract carcinomas rank fifth in incidence among all gastrointestinal tumours. This group of tumours includes both cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma. Although surgery represents the main therapeutic option for these patients, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy could be used in a multidisciplinary approach. Several studies are currently available on the use of chemotherapy, including 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C, methotrexate, doxorubicin and cisplatin or newer anticancer molecules, such as gemcitabine, capecitabine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan. However, the small sample size of most of these studies prevents generalization. Discussion: We reviewed the available data on both chemotherapy and targeted therapies for biliary carcinoma. By using conventional chemotherapy, a response rate ranging from 10% to 40% has been reported. Although encouraging data emerged with the use of targeted therapies, further efforts are needed to improve treatment options for patients with biliary tract cancer.
AB - Background: The biliary tract carcinomas rank fifth in incidence among all gastrointestinal tumours. This group of tumours includes both cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma. Although surgery represents the main therapeutic option for these patients, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy could be used in a multidisciplinary approach. Several studies are currently available on the use of chemotherapy, including 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C, methotrexate, doxorubicin and cisplatin or newer anticancer molecules, such as gemcitabine, capecitabine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan. However, the small sample size of most of these studies prevents generalization. Discussion: We reviewed the available data on both chemotherapy and targeted therapies for biliary carcinoma. By using conventional chemotherapy, a response rate ranging from 10% to 40% has been reported. Although encouraging data emerged with the use of targeted therapies, further efforts are needed to improve treatment options for patients with biliary tract cancer.
KW - Chemotherapy
KW - Cholangiocarcinoma
KW - Gallbladder cancer
KW - Treatment
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U2 - 10.1007/s12029-012-9369-2
DO - 10.1007/s12029-012-9369-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 22328060
AN - SCOPUS:84866351088
VL - 43
SP - 396
EP - 404
JO - Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer
JF - Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer
SN - 1941-6628
IS - 3
ER -