Adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization following radical resection for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A multi-center retrospective study

Research progress and prospect of postoperative adjuvant therapy for resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary malignancy of the liver, following hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Surgical resection remains the only potentially curative treatment for ICC. However, due to its high malignancy and propensity for postoperative recurrence, the prognosis for ICC is generally poor, and there is currently little standardized approach for adjuvant therapy following curative surgery. This article aims to explore adjuvant treatment strategies for ICC post-curative surgery by reviewing retrospective studies and clinical trials conducted in recent years. The analysis focuses on the effectiveness, challenges, and potential developments in the management of ICC post-surgery, considering the high recurrence rates and the need for improved therapeutic approaches to enhance patient outcomes. Additionally, we discuss the various types of adjuvant treatments that have been explored, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapies. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current landscape and highlight promising directions for future research to improve survival and quality of life for ICC patients.

The Recent Trends of Systemic Treatments and Locoregional Therapies for Cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a hepatic malignancy that has a rapidly increasing incidence. CCA is anatomically classified into intrahepatic (iCCA) and extrahepatic (eCCA), which is further divided into perihilar (pCCA) and distal (dCCA) subtypes, with higher incidence rates in Asia. Despite its rarity, CCA has a low 5-year survival rate and remains the leading cause of primary liver tumor-related death over the past 10-20 years. The systemic therapy section discusses gemcitabine-based regimens as primary treatments, along with oxaliplatin-based options. Second-line therapy is limited but may include short-term infusional fluorouracil (FU) plus leucovorin (LV) and oxaliplatin. The adjuvant therapy section discusses approaches to improve overall survival (OS) post-surgery. However, only a minority of CCA patients qualify for surgical resection. In comparison to adjuvant therapies, neoadjuvant therapy for unresectable cases shows promise. Gemcitabine and cisplatin indicate potential benefits for patients awaiting liver transplantation. The addition of immunotherapies to chemotherapy in combination is discussed. Nivolumab and innovative approaches like CAR-T cells, TRBAs, and oncolytic viruses are explored. We aim in this review to provide a comprehensive report on the systemic and locoregional therapies for CCA.

Locoregional Therapy for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: The Role of Intra-Arterial Therapies

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare disease with a rising incidence. While surgical resection is the only curative option, the disease process is often identified in advanced stages, as this malignancy often remains clinically silent in early development. Only one-third of patients are eligible for resection at the time of diagnosis. For patients who cannot undergo resection, intra-arterial therapies are reasonable palliative treatment options; in rare occasions, these may be bridging therapies, as well. The premise of bland embolization and most chemoembolization intra-arterial therapies is that the arterial supply of the tumor is occluded to induce tumor necrosis, while radioembolization utilizes the arterial flow of the tumor to deliver radiation therapy. In this review, we discuss the use of transarterial embolization, transarterial chemoembolization, and selective internal radiation therapy for the treatment of ICC. Phase III randomized controlled clinical trials are difficult to tailor to this extremely rare and aggressive disease, but ultimately, further investigation should be pursued to define the patient population that will derive the greatest benefit from each modality.

Anatomic versus non-anatomic resection for early-stage intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a propensity score matching and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis

BACKGROUND

Radical resection is still the most cost-effectiveness curative strategy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), but it remains controversial on the survival benefit of anatomic resection (AR). In this study, we sought to compare the oncologic outcomes between AR versus non-AR (NAR) as the primary treatment for early-stage ICC patients.

METHODS

Data of ICC patients who underwent hepatectomy and staged at AJCC I were retrospectively collected from 12 hepatobiliary centers in China between Dec 2012 and Dec 2015. Propensity score matching (PSM) and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis were performed to minimize the effect of potential confounders, and the perioperative and long-term outcomes between AR and NAR groups were compared.

RESULTS

Two hundred seventy-eight ICC patients staged at AJCC I were eligible for this study, including 126 patients receiving AR and 152 patients receiving NAR. Compared to the NAR group, the AR group experienced more intraoperative blood loss before and after PSM or stabilized IPTW (all P > 0.05); AR group also experienced more intraoperative transfusion after stabilized IPTW (P > 0.05). In terms of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), no significant differences were observed between the two groups before and after PSM or stabilized IPTW (all P > 0.05). Multivariable Cox regression analyses found that AR was not an independent prognostic factor for either DFS or OS (all P > 0.05). Further analysis also showed that the survival benefit of AR was not found in any subgroup stratified by Child-Pugh grade (A or B), cirrhosis (presence or absence), tumor diameter (≤ 5 cm or > 5 cm) and pathological type (mass-forming or non-mass-forming) with all P > 0.05.

CONCLUSION

Surgical approach does not influence the prognosis of patients with stage I primary ICC, and NAR might be acceptable and oncological safety.

Prognostic influence of multiple hepatic lesions in resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Presence of multiple hepatic lesions in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is included in staging as a negative prognostic factor, but both prognostic value and therapeutic implications remain debated. The aim of this study was to systematically review the prognostic influence of multiple lesions on survival after resection for iCCA, with stratification for distribution and number of lesions.

METHODS

Medline and Embase were systematically searched to identify records (2010-2021) reporting survival for patients undergoing primary resection for iCCA. Included were original articles reporting overall survival, with data on multiple lesions including tumour distribution (satellites/other multiple lesions) and/or number. For meta-analysis, the random effects model and inverse variance method were used. PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed.

RESULTS

Thirty-one studies were included for review. For meta-analysis, nine studies reporting data on the prognostic influence of satellite lesions (2737 patients) and six studies reporting data on multiple lesions other than satellites (1589 patients) were included. Satellite lesions (hazard ratio 1.89, 95% confidence interval 1.67-2.13) and multiple lesions other than satellites (hazard ratio 2.41, 95% confidence interval 1.72-3.37) were significant negative prognostic factors. Data stratified for tumour number, while limited, indicated increased risk per additional lesion.

CONCLUSION

Satellite lesions, as well as multiple lesions other than satellites, was a negative prognostic factor in resectable iCCA. Considering the prognostic impact, both tumour distribution and number of lesions should be evaluated together with other risk factors to allow risk stratification for iCCA patients with multiple lesions, rather than precluding resection for the entire patient group.

Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Therapy in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary liver cancer and causes major economic and health burdens throughout the world. Although the incidence of ICC is relatively low, an upward trend has been seen over the past few decades. Owing to the lack of specific manifestations and tools for early diagnosis, most ICC patients have relatively advanced disease at diagnosis. Thus, neoadjuvant therapy is necessary to evaluate tumor biology and downstage these patients so that appropriate candidates can be selected for radical liver resection. However, even after radical resection, the recurrence rate is relatively high and is a main cause leading to death after surgery, which makes adjuvant therapy necessary. Because of its low incidence, studies in both neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings of ICC are lagging compared with other types of malignancy. While standard neoadjuvant and adjuvant regimens are not available in the current guidelines due to a lack of high-level evidence, some progress has been achieved in recent years. In this review, the available literature on advances in neoadjuvant and adjuvant strategies in ICC are evaluated, and possible challenges and opportunities for clinical and translational investigations in the near future are discussed.

Prognostic factors of recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after hepatectomy: A retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly malignant tumour. Hepatectomy is an effective treatment for early ICC, but postoperative recurrence greatly affects patient survival. Studies on recurrent ICC after hepatectomy are lacking.

AIM

To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with recurrent ICC after hepatectomy, analyse prognostic factors and explore diagnosis and treatment strategies.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on all ICC patients undergoing hepatectomy from January 2013 to August 2021. Patients with postoperative recurrence were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cumulative overall survival was plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences were assessed by univariate survival analysis using the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis of cumulative survival was performed using the Cox proportional risk model.

RESULTS

During the 8-year study period, 103 patients underwent ICC-related hepatectomy, and 54 exhibited postoperative recurrence. The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 6 mo, the median overall survival (OS) was 9 mo, and the cumulative OS rates at 1, 2 and 3 years after the operation were 40.7%, 14.8% and 7.4%, respectively. The median OS after recurrence was 4 mo, and the cumulative OS rates at 1, 2 and 3 years after recurrence were 16.1%, 6.7% and 3.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that alcohol consumption [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.64, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.53-14.04, P = 0.007] and DFS < 6 mo (HR = 3.47, 95%CI: 1.59-7.60, P = 0.002) were independent risk factors for the cumulative survival of patients with recurrence, while treatment after recurrence (HR = 0.21, 95%CI: 0.08-0.55, P = 0.001) was an independent protective factor. The median OS time of patients receiving multimodality therapy after recurrence of ICC was 7 mo, which was significantly higher than that of patients receiving only local therapy (3 mo), patients receiving systematic therapy (4 mo) and patients receiving the best supportive therapy (1 mo). Patients with recurrent ICC who received multimodality therapy had a significantly better long-term survival after recurrence than those who did not (P = 0.026).

CONCLUSION

The prognosis of patients with recurrence after ICC-related hepatectomy is poor. Alcohol consumption and DFS < 6 mo are independent risk factors in terms of the cumulative survival of patients with recurrence, while treatment after recurrence is an independent protective factor. Multimodality therapy can effectively improve the prognosis of patients.

Interventional Treatment for Cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common type of primary liver malignancy. The latest classification includes intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, with the latter one further categorized into perihilar and distal cholangiocarcinoma. Although surgical resection is the preferred treatment for CCA, less than half of the patients are actually eligible for radical surgical resection. Interventional treatment, such as intra-arterial therapies, ablation, and brachytherapy (iodine-125 seed implantation), has become an acceptable palliative treatment for patients with unresectable CCA. For these patients, interventional treatment is helpful for locoregional control, symptom relief, and improving quality of life. Herein, in a timely and topical manner, we will review these advances and highlight future directions of research in this article.

Combining PD-1 Inhibitor with VEGF/VEGFR2 Inhibitor in Chemotherapy: Report of a Patient with End-Stage Cholangiocarcinoma and Review of Literature

BACKGROUND

Cholangiocarcinoma is the second-largest liver cancer, and develops from the biliary epithelium, where it discretely progresses. Unfortunately, many patients miss the opportunity of performing surgery when diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, and due to its chemotherapeutic insensitivity, its control has always been considered difficult.

OBJECTIVE

Here, we present a case of stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma being controlled by the combination of chemotherapy with PD-1 and VEGF/VEGFR2 inhibitors.

CASE PRESENTATION

The patient is a 58-year-old male who was diagnosed with a progressed cholangiocarcinoma 2 years ago. From the beginning, metastases were discovered in multiple places, and the patient was unsuccessfully treated with 3 chemotherapy regimens. Therefore, a new therapeutic method was considered, and that involved the testing of a new combination of chemotherapy with PD-1 and VEGF/VEGFR2 inhibitors.

RESULTS

After 6 courses of treatment with this combination, the patient's lesions became smaller and stable.

CONCLUSION

Our case highlights the possibility of combining chemotherapy with PD-1 and VEGF/ VEGFR2 inhibitors for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma patients. This combination may herald new hope for patients who run out of regimens.