Genomic alterations and targeted therapies in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

The global morbimortality of biliary tract cancer (BTC) is steadily increasing and accounts for ~10% of all primary liver cancer. Distinct anatomical locations of BTC have singularities in their etiopathogenesis, which are translated into differences in their molecular fingerprints and the associate...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Oronich, Arnau; Pallisé, Ona; Salud Salvia, Maria Antonieta; Montal Roura, Robert
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2023
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/464443
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2023.04
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/464443
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Biliary tract cancer
Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Genetic alterations
Molecular classification
Targeted therapies
Biomarkers
Description
Summary:The global morbimortality of biliary tract cancer (BTC) is steadily increasing and accounts for ~10% of all primary liver cancer. Distinct anatomical locations of BTC have singularities in their etiopathogenesis, which are translated into differences in their molecular fingerprints and the associated therapeutic approaches. Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (eCCA), arising in the large and distal bile ducts, presents recurrent activating mutations of KRAS and loss-of-function alterations in TP53, SMAD4, and CDKN2A/B. Despite being highly prevalent, no targeted therapies are yet available for these oncogenic drivers. ERBB2 mutations and amplifications, on the other hand, are the most recurrent actionable alterations for eCCA, with several clinical trials aiming to provide benefits in biomarker-enriched populations. In addition, integrative multi-omics analysis of eCCA has allowed the identification of novel molecular classes of this disease that could be therapeutically exploited. Beyond that, the highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of eCCA has prevented until now the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors, recently approved in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Further characterization of eCCA at the molecular level would potentially foster treating patients based on a precision oncology approach in order to increase the clinical outcomes for this challenging disease.