Cholangiocarcinoma is a devastating malignancy that is notoriously difficult to diagnose and is associated with a high mortality. Despite extensive efforts to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this neoplasm, limited progress has been made. Integrin β6 is a subtype of integrin that is expressed exclusively on the surfaces of epithelial cells and is associated with a variety of tumors. In th...

The protein encoded by the p53 tumour suppressor gene plays an important part in the regulation of cell growth. Abnormalities of this gene represent one of the most common genetic changes in the development of human cancers. This study investigated the expression of p53 protein in cholangiocarcinoma arising in association with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Of the 14 patients with cholan...

Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer issued a warning about the carcinogenicity of 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP) to humans based on an epidemiological study suggesting a relationship between the incidence of cholangiocarcinoma and occupational exposure to halogenated hydrocarbon solvent comprised mostly of 1,2-DCP. Although this dihaloalkane has been used in various industr...

Liver transplantation following high dose neoadjuvant radiotherapy with chemosensitization achieves excellent results for patients with early stage, unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma or cholangiocarcinoma arising in the setting of primary sclerosing cholangitis.

A low serum level of vitamin D has been associated with an increased incidence of gastrointestinal tract cancers. However, the effects of vitamin D3 have not been investigated in gastric cancer and cholangiocarcinoma. In the present study, we found that vitamin D3 treatment significantly suppressed the viability of gastric cancer and cholangiocarcinoma cells. Moreover, vitamin D3 had a synergis...

IgG4-associated cholangitis can mimic hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Previously reported patients with IgG4-associated cholangitis mimicking cholangiocarcinoma had elevated serum IgG4 levels and long-segment biliary strictures. However, in the absence of other diagnostic criteria for malignancy, IgG4-associated cholangitis should remain a consideration among patients with normal serum IgG4 and a hil...

The precise role of laparoscopic assessment of biliary tract malignancy is yet to be defined. The evidence for its use has been reviewed to establish the role of laparoscopy for preoperative staging of cholangiocarcinoma. Published papers were reviewed for the evidence relevant to intrahepatic, proximal intrahepatic and distal biliary carcinoma. There is no randomized trial evaluating staging l...

Cholangiocarcinoma development may be related to cholangiocyte DNA damage from genotoxic compounds in bile. We have previously shown that human biliary tissue is exposed to genotoxic agents, as evidenced by the presence of DNA adducts. Establishing the presence of a 'mutational signature' in tumour suppressor genes from tumour tissue provides a means of linking cause and effect in human cancer....

A 65-year-old man was hospitalized due to an abdominal tumor. Several imaging studies showed multilocular tumors in the right hepatic lobe and in the pancreatic head, 4 and 7 cm in size, respectively. The hepatic tumor rapidly grew to 9 cm in 4 weeks, associated with a rapid increase in the serum carcinoembryonic antigen level from 125 ng/ml to 1,000 ng/ml. The pathologic diagnosis of the resec...

The combination of hilar cholangiocarcinoma and anatomic variation constitutes a rare and complicated condition. Precise understanding of 3-dimensional position of tumor in the intrahepatic structure in such cases is important for operation planning and navigation. We report a case of a 61-year woman presenting with hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Anatomic variation and tumor location were well depic...