Molecular Profiling and Targeted Therapy in Cholangiocarcinoma: An Observational, Retrospective Multicenter Study

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive biliary tract malignancy and overall prognosis remains poor, with a median survival of less than 24 months. Sequencing studies have revealed a high prevalence of genomic alterations in CCA, with multiple potential therapeutic targets. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) can identify actionable mutations such as FGFR, IDH, BRAF, ERBB2, ROS1, or microsatellite instability (MSI-H), among others.

We conducted a retrospective multicenter study in Spain in 2019. Thirty consecutive patients from 15 centers were included. All patients were diagnosed with advanced CCA and underwent NGS (FoundationOne®) in 2019. Twenty-four patients underwent tissue-based NGS (FoundationOne® CDx), and 6 patients underwent blood-based NGS (FoundationOne®Liquid) with sequencing panels of 324 and 70 genes, respectively RESULTS: We identified 12 patients (40%) with an actionable genetic alteration in tissue: 2 FGFR2 fusions, 6 IDH1 mutations, 1 ERBB2 mutation, 1 ROS1 fusion, 1 PIK3CA mutation, and 1 MSI-H.

Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) in cholangiocarcinoma can identify, in a high proportion of patients, clinically relevant genomic alterations that can lead to targeted therapies, expanding treatment options.