title: Recent advances in the regulation of cholangiocarcinoma growth.
abstract: Cholangiocarcinomas arise after the neoplastic transformation of the cholangiocytes that line the intra- and extrahepatic biliary epithelium. Symptoms usually do not present until late in the course of the disease, at which time they are relatively resistant to chemotherapeutic agents and as such are difficult to treat and display a poor prognosis. Because of the relative rarity of this disease, the overall volume of research into the molecular pathophysiology associated with this disease is small compared with other more prevalent tumors. However, the incidence of this devastating cancer is on the rise and renewed efforts to understand the pathogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma is needed to design novel therapeutic strategies to combat this disease. This review summarizes the recent advances into our knowledge and understanding of cholangiocarcinoma and highlights potential novel therapeutic strategies that may prove useful to treat this deadly disease.
authors.affiliation: Deptartment of Internal Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Medicine, Temple, TX 76504, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alpini
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: DeMorrow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005768:Gastrointestinal Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D015398:Signal Transduction; D047368:Tumor Burden
chemical_list: D005768:Gastrointestinal Hormones; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins