Systemic therapy for gallbladder cancer
Milind Javle1, Haitao Zhao2, Ghassan K Abou-Alfa3,4
1Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. mjavle@mdanderson.org.
Abstract:
Gallbladder cancer is an aggressive cancer that continues to be an important health care issue in certain regions of the world such as Southeast Asia and Latin America. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced, unresectable stage and systemic therapy is their only option. Gallbladder cancer patients have traditionally been included in clinical trials for biliary tract cancer. Thus, systemic chemotherapy options for this cancer are similar to those for cholangiocarcinoma, including gemcitabine and cisplatin in the first line and FOLFOX in the second-line setting. Ongoing phase III clinical trials may change the systemic therapy paradigm for this cancer. Molecular profiling has indicated important genetic differences between gallbladder cancer and cholangio-carcinoma, which affects choice of targeted therapy. Her2/neu amplification, PIK3CA mutations and DNA repair genetic aberrations are relatively frequent and represent actionable targets for this cancer.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Gallbladder
The gallbladder's anatomy consists of three regions: the fundus, body, and neck. Extending from the neck, the cystic duct joins...
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
10:51Protocols for Assessing Radiofrequency Interactions with Gold Nanoparticles and Biological Systems for Non-invasive Hyperthermia Cancer Therapy
08:45Cerenkov Luminescence Imaging (CLI) for Cancer Therapy Monitoring
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
01:26Diseases of the Liver and Gallbladder
Cirrhosis is characterized by the scarring of hepatic lobules in the liver, which are replaced by fibrous tissue, affecting the liver's normal functioning. NAFLD, on the other hand, is caused by an excessive build-up of fat in the liver, not...