Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma) Treatment Options
There are different types of treatment for patients with bile duct cancer.
Different types of treatments are available for patients with bile duct cancer. Some treatments are standard, and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Three types of standard treatment are used:
1. Surgery
The following types of surgery are used to treat bile duct cancer:
- Removal of the bile duct: A surgical procedure to remove part of the bile duct if the tumor is small and in the bile duct only. Lymph nodes are removed and tissue from the lymph nodes is viewed under a microscope to see if there is cancer.
- Partial hepatectomy: A surgical procedure in which the part of the liver where cancer is found is removed. The part removed may be a wedge of tissue, an entire lobe, or a larger part of the liver, along with some normal tissue around it.
- Whipple procedure: A surgical procedure in which the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, and the bile duct are removed. Enough of the pancreas is left to make digestive juices and insulin.
After the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy or radiation therapy given after surgery helps keep the cancer from coming back.
The following types of palliative surgery may be done to relieve symptoms caused by a blocked bile duct and improve quality of life:
- Biliary bypass: If cancer is blocking the bile duct and bile is building up in the gallbladder, a biliary bypass may be done. During this operation, the doctor will cut the gallbladder or bile duct in the area before the blockage and sew it to the part of the bile duct that is past the blockage or to the small intestine to create a new pathway around the blocked area.
- Endoscopic stent placement: If the tumor is blocking the bile duct, surgery may be done to put in a stent (a thin tube) to drain bile that has built up in the area. The doctor may place the stent through a catheter that drains the bile into a bag on the outside of the body or the stent may go around the blocked area and drain the bile into the small intestine.
- Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage: A procedure used to x-ray the liver and bile ducts. A thin needle is inserted through the skin below the ribs and into the liver. Dye is injected into the liver or bile ducts and an x-ray is taken. If the bile duct is blocked, a thin, flexible tube called a stent may be left in the liver to drain bile into the small intestine or a collection bag outside the body.
2. Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy:
- External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.
- Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer.
External and internal radiation therapy are used to treat bile duct cancer.
It is not yet known whether external radiation therapy helps in the treatment of resectable bile duct cancer. In unresectable, metastatic, or recurrent bile duct cancer, new ways to improve the effect of external radiation therapy on cancer cells are being studied:
- Hyperthermia therapy: A treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures to make cancer cells more sensitive to the effects of radiation therapy and certain anticancer drugs.
- Radiosensitizers: Drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Combining radiation therapy with radiosensitizers may kill more cancer cells.
3. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy).
Systemic chemotherapy is used to treat unresectable, metastatic, or recurrent bile duct cancer. It is not yet known whether systemic chemotherapy helps in the treatment of resectable bile duct cancer.
In unresectable, metastatic, or recurrent bile duct cancer, intra-arterial embolization is being studied. It is a procedure in which the blood supply to a tumor is blocked after anticancer drugs are given in blood vessels near the tumor. Sometimes, the anticancer drugs are attached to small beads that are injected into an artery that feeds the tumor. The beads block blood flow to the tumor as they release the drug. This allows a higher amount of drug to reach the tumor for a longer period of time, which may kill more cancer cells.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
These are just some of the new treatments being tested in clinical trials.
Liver transplant
In a liver transplant, the entire liver is removed and replaced with a healthy donated liver. A liver transplant may be done in patients with perihilar bile duct cancer. If the patient has to wait for a donated liver, other treatment is given as needed.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells. Targeted therapies usually cause less harm to normal cells than chemotherapy or radiation therapy do. The following targeted therapies are being studied in patients with bile duct cancer that is locally advanced and cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body:
- Ivosidenib is a type of targeted therapy that blocks a specific mutation in a gene called IDH1. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells.
- Pemigatinib is a type of targeted therapy that blocks specific changes in a gene called FGFR2. This may help keep cancer cells from growing and may kill them.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body’s natural defenses against cancer. This cancer treatment is a type of biologic therapy.
- Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy is a type of immunotherapy that may be used to treat bile duct cancer.
- PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitor therapy: PD-1 is a protein on the surface of T cells that helps keep the body’s immune responses in check. PD-L1 is a protein found on some types of cancer cells. When PD-1 attaches to PD-L1, it stops the T cell from killing the cancer cell. PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors keep PD-1 and PD-L1 proteins from attaching to each other. This allows the T cells to kill cancer cells. Pembrolizumab is a type of PD-1 inhibitor that may be used in patients whose cancer is locally advanced and cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
Treatment of Resectable (Localized) Bile Duct Cancer
- Treatment of resectable intrahepatic bile duct cancer may include:
- Surgery to remove the cancer, which may include partial hepatectomy. Embolization may be done before surgery.
- Treatment of resectable perihilar bile duct cancer many include:
- Surgery to remove the cancer, which may include partial hepatectomy.
- Stent placement or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage as palliative therapy, to relieve jaundice and other symptoms and improve the quality of life.
- Treatment of resectable distal bile duct cancer may include:
- Surgery to remove the cancer, which may include a Whipple procedure.
- Stent placement or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage as palliative therapy, to relieve jaundice and other symptoms and improve the quality of life.
- Adjuvant therapy for resectable bile duct cancer may include:
- Chemotherapy.
- External-beam radiation therapy.
- A clinical trial of adjuvant therapy.
Treatment of Unresectable Bile Duct Cancer (Including Metastatic or Recurrent Disease)
- Treatment of unresectable bile duct cancer (including metastatic or recurrent disease) may include:
- Stent placement or biliary bypass as palliative treatment to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.
- External or internal radiation therapy as palliative treatment to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.
- Combination chemotherapy.
- A clinical trial of various combinations of chemotherapy.
- A clinical trial of immunotherapy in patients with mutations (changes) in certain genes.
- A clinical trial of targeted therapy for patients with mutations (changes) in certain genes.
Source: National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov, October 2020
