title: Locoregional therapy for cholangiocarcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cholangiocarcinoma has a poor prognosis. Surgical resection offers the only curative option and usually requires a major hepatic resection in addition to resection of the cholangiocarcinoma. Unfortunately, curative resection is possible in only about 30% of patients due to locally advanced disease, distant metastases or comorbidity in elderly patients. Even after resection, the recurrence rate is approximately 60%, resulting in a low 5-year overall survival (OS). In unresectable cholangiocarcinoma OS with systemic chemotherapy is less than 1 year. Since most cholangiocarcinoma patients develop distant metastases at late stages only, locoregional therapy is an interesting therapeutic strategy. Here, we review the locoregional concepts of cholangiocarcinoma therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Locoregional therapy studies in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma employing radiofrequency ablation (RFA), transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or external as well as internal radiation therapy yielded promising results in the last couple of years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, locoregional therapies have been shown to be effective in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Local tumour control may prolong OS and can be achieved by locoregional interventions applied either sequentially or in combination with systemic chemotherapies.
authors: Department of Medicine II, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. jan.kuhlmann@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors: Jan B
authors: JB
authors: Kuhlmann
authors: Hubert E
authors: HE
authors: Blum
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations