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Purpose: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of yttrium-90 ( 90 Y) radioembolization as first-line treatment for unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)., Materials and Methods: This prospective study enrolled patients who had never received chemotherapy, liver embolization, and radiation therapy. The tumors were solitary in 16 patients, multiple in 8 patients, unilobar in 14 patients, and bilobar in 10 patients. Patients underwent transarterial radioembolization with 90 Y-labeled glass microspheres. The primary end point was hepatic progression-free survival (HPFS). Secondary end points were overall survival (OS), tumor response, and toxicity., Results: Twenty-four patients (age, 72.3 years ± 9.3; 12 women) were included in the study. The median delivered radiation dose was 135.5 Gy (interquartile range, 77.6 Gy). The median HPFS was 5.5 months (95% CI, 3.9-7.0 months). Analysis failed to identify any prognostic factor associated with HPFS. Imaging response at 3 months showed 56% disease control, and the best radiographic response was 71% disease control. The median OS from the radioembolization treatment was 19.4 months (95% CI, 5.0-33.7). Patients with solitary ICC had significantly longer median OS than patients with multifocal ICC: 25.9 months (95% CI, 20.8-31.0 months) versus 10.7 months (95% CI, 8.0-13.4 months) (P = .02). Patients with progression on the 3-month imaging follow-up had significantly shorter median OS than patients who had stable disease at 3 months: 10.7 months (95% CI, 0.7-20.7 months) versus 37.3 months (95% CI, 16.5-58.1 months) (P = .003). Two (8%) Grade 3 toxicities were reported., Conclusions: First-line treatment of ICC with radioembolization showed promising OS and minimal toxicity, especially in patients with solitary tumor. Radioembolization may be considered as a first-line treatment option for unresectable ICC., (Copyright © 2023 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose of Review: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are a heterogenous group of cancers arising from the biliary tract. The hallmark of these cancers is the advanced stage of presentation and a paucity of durable treatment options. Despite the advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy in solid tumors, systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy has remained the mainstay for cholangiocarcinomas., Recent Findings: With advances in the understanding of the tumor microenvironment, genetic features, and inflammatory milieu, have led to the identification of tumor-infiltrating immune cells as indicators of prognosis and response to treatment in BTC. Through an improved comprehension of immunology, immuno-oncology is becoming another pillar of treatment along with traditional radiation, surgery, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and targeted therapies. This article reviews the evidence for immunotherapy use in cholangiocarcinoma, which still being in infancy, and offers promising new novel options for the management of biliary tract cancers., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of transarterial yttrium-90 glass microsphere radioembolization in patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)., Materials and Methods: Retrospective review of 85 consecutive patients (41 men and 44 women; age, 73.4 ± 9.3 years) was performed. Survival data were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, Cox regression models, and the log-rank test., Results: Median overall survival (OS) from diagnosis was 21.4 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16.6-28.4); median OS from radioembolization was 12.0 months (95% CI: 8.0-15.2). Seven episodes of severe toxicity occurred. At 3 months, 6.2% of patients had partial response, 64.2% had stable disease, and 29.6% had progressive disease. Median OS from radioembolization was significantly longer in patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scores of 0 and 1 than patients with an ECOG score of 2 (18.5 vs 5.5 months, P = .0012), and median OS from radioembolization was significantly longer in patients with well-differentiated histology than patients with poorly differentiated histology (18.6 vs 9.7 months, P = .012). Patients with solitary tumors had significantly longer median OS from radioembolization than patients with multifocal disease (25 vs. 6.1 months, P = .006). The absence of extrahepatic metastasis was associated with significantly increased median OS (15.2 vs. 6.8 months, P = .003). Increased time from diagnosis to radioembolization was a negative predictor of OS. The morphology of the tumor (mass-forming or infiltrative, hyper- or hypo-enhancing) had no effect on survival. Post-treatment increased cancer antigen 19-9 level, increased international normalized ratio, decreased albumin, increased bilirubin, increased aspartate aminotransferase, and increased Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score were significant predictors of decreased OS., Conclusions: These data support the therapeutic role of radioembolization for the treatment of unresectable ICC with good efficacy and an acceptable safety profile., (Copyright © 2018 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Involvement of the IVC has traditionally been considered a relative contraindication to resection for advanced tumors of the liver. Combined resection of the liver and IVC for malignancy can be performed safely and results in long-term survival in select patients., Study Design: Sixty patients undergoing hepatic and IVC resection by the primary author from 1996 to 2012 were reviewed. Median age was 52 years. Resections were carried out for cholangiocarcinoma (n = 26), hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 16), colorectal metastases (n = 13), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (n = 2), hepatoblastoma (n = 2), and squamous cell carcinoma (n = 1). Resections performed included 27 right and 5 left trisegmentectomies and 25 right and 3 left lobectomies, including the caudate lobe. Ex vivo procedures were performed in 6 patients using veno-venous bypass and the other 54 procedures were performed using varying degrees of vascular isolation. In situ cold perfusion of the liver was used in 8 patients. The IVC was reconstructed using a tube graft (n = 38) primarily (n = 8) or with patches (n = 14)., Results: There were 5 perioperative deaths (8%). Three patients died of liver failure, 1 patient died of pulmonary hemorrhage, and 1 patient died of massive pulmonary embolism. Nine patients had evidence of postoperative liver failure that resolved with supportive management. Three patients required temporary dialysis. With a median follow-up of 31 months, 14 patients have died of recurrent malignancy between 22 and 44 months, and an additional 4 patients are alive with disease at 16 to 33 months. Actuarial 1- and 5-year survival rates were 89% and 35%, respectively., Conclusions: Inferior vena cava involvement by malignancy does not obviate liver resection. The procedure's increased risk is balanced by the possible benefits, given the lack of alternative curative approaches., (Copyright © 2013 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Vascular reconstruction along with major liver resection in the setting of liver dysfunction caused by biliary obstruction can be associated with increased risk. The purpose of this report is to assess the role of portal vein resection and reconstruction in the surgical management of hilar cholangiocarcinoma., Study Design: Ninety-five patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma who underwent resection between 1999 and 2010 were reviewed. Liver resections performed along with biliary resection included 84 trisegmentectomies (63 right, 21 left) and 11 lobectomies (8 left, 3 right). Thirteen patients also had simultaneous pancreaticoduodenectomy performed. Forty-two patients underwent portal vein resection and reconstruction. Five patients required reconstruction of the hepatic artery. Preoperative portal vein embolization was used in 38 patients., Results: Patients undergoing resection had a 5% mortality rate, with an overall morbidity rate of 36%. Patients who underwent portal vein resection had perioperative mortality and morbidity similar to those who did not have portal vein resection. Median survival was 38 months (95% CI, 29-51 months), with a 5-year survival rate of 43%. There was no difference in long-term survival between those patients who had portal vein resection and those that did not. Negative margins were achieved in 84% of cases and were associated with improved survival (p < 0.01). Five-year survival rate in patients undergoing R0 resection was 50%. Patients with positive lymph nodes appeared to have a worse 5-year survival rate than patients with node-negative status (23% versus 49%); however, only negative margin status was associated with improved survival by multivariate analysis., Conclusions: Surgical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma that requires resection of the portal vein can be performed safely and should not be a contraindication to resection., (Copyright © 2011 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma remains a difficult challenge for the surgeon. Achieving negative surgical margins when resecting this relatively uncommon tumor is technically demanding as a result of the close proximity of the bile duct bifurcation to the vascular inflow of the liver. A recent advance in surgical treatment is the addition of portal vein resection to the procedure. Resection of the portal vein increases the number of patients offered a potentially curative approach but is technically more difficult and may increase the risk of the procedure. This study reviews the results of portal vein resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Between 1998 and 2005, 60 patients underwent potentially curative resections of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Mean patient age was 64 +/- 12 years (range, 24-85 years). Liver resections performed along with biliary resection included 49 trisegmentectomies (37 right, 12 left) and 10 lobectomies (8 left, 2 right). One patient had only the bile duct resected. Four patients also had simultaneous pancreaticoduodenectomy performed. Twenty-six patients required portal vein resection and reconstruction to achieve negative margins, 3 of which also required reconstruction of the hepatic artery. Operative mortality was 8 per cent with an overall complication rate of 40 per cent. Patients who underwent portal vein resection had an operative mortality of 4 per cent, which was not different from the 12 per cent mortality in patients who did not undergo portal vein resection (P = 0.39). There was no difference in actuarial patient survival between patients who underwent portal vein resection and those who did not (5-year survival 39 per cent vs. 41 per cent, P = not significant). Negative margins were achieved in 80 per cent of cases and were associated with improved survival (P < 0.01). Five-year actuarial survival in patients undergoing resection with negative margins was 45 per cent. There was no difference in margin status or long-term survival between those patients who underwent portal vein resection and those who did not. Only negative margin status was associated with improved survival by multivariate analysis. Portal vein resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma is safe and allows a chance for long-term survival in otherwise unresectable patients.