Concurrent chemoradiation for resected gall bladder cancers and cholangiocarcinomas

Efficacy and safety comparison of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and upfront surgery for treating intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Currently, surgical resection is the most commonly performed and effective treatment for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) worldwide. However, the prognosis of ICC is unsatisfactory. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and upfront surgery in treating intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). The study also intends to explore whether chemotherapy should be introduced before surgery and which populations should be considered for neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

METHOD

Four databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, were searched from their inception dates to January 2022 for relevant articles. The statistical analysis was performed using the Review Manager Software (version5.3). The non-randomized interventions (ROBINS-I) was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies and the overall quality of evidence was assessed through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. Moreover, the primary outcomes included 1-year, 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS), while the secondary outcomes were R0 resection, 1-year, 3-year and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS), postoperative complications and ninety-day postoperative mortality.

RESULTS

Five studies involving 2412 patients were included in this meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in 1-year OS, 3-year OS, 1-year, 3-year and 5-year RFS, postoperative complications and ninety-day postoperative mortality between the two groups. However, the meta-analysis showed that the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group had a better 5-year OS benefit in ICC patients than the upfront surgery group (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.02-1.58), while the R0 resection rate was lower in neoadjuvant chemotherapy group than that in the upfront surgery group (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.26-0.91).

CONCLUSION

Compared with the upfront surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery could prolong the 5-year OS without increasing the risk of postoperative complications in ICC patients. Considering that the patients in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery group had more advanced ICC cases, the benefits of neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be more significant in patients with more advanced ICC.

The role of neo-adjuvant therapy in cholangiocarcinoma: A systematic review

Introduction

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the most common malignancy affecting the biliary tree. The only curative treatment is surgical resection, aiming for negative margins (R0). For those who have locally advanced disease, which is borderline resectable, neoadjuvant chemoradiation presents an opportunity to reduce tumour size and allow for surgical resection. The aim of this review is to establish the role of neoadjuvant therapy in each subtype of CCA and establish its impact on survival.

Methods

Search terms such as 'neoadjuvant therapy' and 'cholangiocarcinoma' were searched on multiple databases, including Pubmed, Ovid and Embase. They were then reviewed separately by two reviewers for inclusion criteria. 978 studies were initially identified from the search strategy, with 21 being included in this review.

Results

5,009 patients were included across 21 studies. 1,173 underwent neoadjuvant therapy, 3,818 had surgical resection alone. 359 patients received Gemcitabine based regimes, making it the most commonly utilised regimen for patients CCA and Biliary Tract Cancer (BTC). Data on tolerability of regimes was limited. All included papers were found to have low risk of bias when assessed using The Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Patients who underwent neoadjuvant therapy had a similar median overall survival compared to those who underwent upfront surgery (38.4 versus 35.1 months respectively). Pre-operative CA19-9, microvascular invasion, perineurial invasion and positive lymph nodes were of prognostic significance across BTC and CCA subtypes.

Conclusion

Neoadjuvant therapy and surgical resection is associated with improved patient outcomes and longer median overall survival compared to therapy and upfront surgery, however heterogeneity between research papers limited the ability to further analyse the significance of these results. Although initial studies are promising, further research is required in order to define suitable treatment protocols and tolerability of neoadjuvant regimes.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42020164781.

Multimodality management of gallbladder cancer can lead to a better outcome: Experience from a tertiary care oncology centre in North India

BACKGROUND

Surgical resection is a treatment of choice for gallbladder cancer (GBC) patients but only 10% of patients have a resectable disease at presentation. Even after surgical resection, overall survival (OS) has been poor due to high rates of recurrence. Combination of surgery and systemic therapy can improve outcomes in this aggressive disease.

AIM

To summarize our single-center experience with multimodality management of resectable GBC patients.

METHODS

Data of all patients undergoing surgery for suspected GBC from January 2012 to December 2018 was retrieved from a prospectively maintained electronic database. Information extracted included demographics, operative and perioperative details, histopathology, neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy, follow-up, and recurrence. To know the factors associated with recurrence and OS, univariate and multivariate analysis was done using log rank test and cox proportional hazard analysis for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Multivariate analysis was done using multiple regression analysis.

RESULTS

Of 274 patients with GBC taken up for surgical resection, 172 (62.7%) were female and the median age was 56 years. On exploration, 102 patients were found to have a metastatic or unresectable disease (distant metastasis in 66 and locally unresectable in 34). Of 172 patients who finally underwent surgery, 93 (54%) underwent wedge resection followed by anatomical segment IVb/V resection in 66 (38.4%) and modified extended right hepatectomy in 12 (7%) patients. The postoperative mortality at 90 d was 4.6%. During a median follow-up period of 20 mo, 71 (41.2%) patients developed recurrence. Estimated 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates were 86.5%, 56%, and 43.5%, respectively. Estimated 1- and 3-year disease free survival (DFS) rates were 75% and 49.2%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, inferior OS was seen with pT3/T4 tumor (P = 0.0001), perineural invasion (P = 0.0096), and R+ resection (P = 0.0125). However, only pT3/T4 tumors were associated with a poor DFS (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Multimodality treatment significantly improves the 5-year survival rate of patients with GBC up to 43%. R+ resection, higher T stage, and perineural invasion adversely affect the outcome and should be considered for systemic therapy in addition to surgery to optimize the outcomes. Multimodality treatment of GBC has potential to improve the survival of GBC patients.

Role of EUS-FNA for gallbladder mass lesions with biliary obstruction: a large single-center experience

Background and study aims  Although endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is an established modality for pathological sampling of pancreatic and biliary lesions, limited data are available on the diagnostic value of EUS-FNA for evaluation of gallbladder mass lesions, a common cause of obstructive jaundice. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of gallbladder mass lesions presenting with biliary obstruction. Patients and methods  This study was a retrospective analysis of data from patients who had undergone EUS-FNA for gallbladder mass lesions. FNA was performed on either a gallbladder mass, metastatic node or liver lesions. Outcome measures were diagnostic yield of EUS FNA and adverse events. Results  From April 2011 to August 2018, 101 patients with gallbladder mass lesions with biliary obstruction underwent EUS-FNA. The final diagnosis was malignancy in 98, benign disease in one, and two patients were lost to follow-up. EUS-FNA confirmed the diagnosis in 89 of 98 patients with malignancy (sensitivity 90.81 %); was false negative in nine of 98 cases with malignancy; and was truly negative in the solitary patient with benign disease (specificity 100 %). Positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were 100 %, 10 %, and 90.90 %, respectively. Two patients had self-limiting pain. Conclusion  EUS-FNA is a sensitive tool for evaluation of gallbladder mass lesions presenting with obstructive jaundice. However, because of low NPV, lesions in which FNA is negative should be further evaluated.