BACKGROUND Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas develop through a multi-step carcinogenesis. Precancerous lesions are defined as biliary intraepithelial neoplasia. Sex determining region Y-box9 (Sox9) is required for the normal differentiation of the biliary tract. AIMS To evaluate the Sox9 expression in carcinogenesis and its correlation with clinicopathological features in intrahepatic cholangi...

Cholangiocarcinoma is a relatively rare cancer, but its incidence is increasing worldwide. Although several risk factors have been suggested, the etiology and pathogenesis of the majority of cholangiocarcinomas remain unclear. Recently, a high incidence of early-onset cholangiocarcinoma was reported among the workers of a printing company in Osaka, Japan. These workers underwent high exposure t...

Cholangiocarcinoma is a malignant tumor originating from biliary epithelial cells. The tumor suppressor gene tropomyosin 1 (TPM1) is downregulated in several human cancer types; however, its expression status in cholangiocarcinoma is still unknown. We elucidated TPM1 expression and its regulation mechanism in cholangiocarcinoma. Real-time (RT)-PCR...

PURPOSE Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a fatal primary liver cancer resulting from diagnosis at an advanced stage. Understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance and metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma may improve the disease prognosis. Enhanced aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity is suggested to be associated with increased drug resistance and the metastasis. This study aims to investigat...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Cholangiocarcinoma is a devastating, unpredictable complication of large duct primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), which occurs in 5-15% of patients. The aim of this review is to discuss whether dominant strictures (DS) occurring in the larger bile ducts in PSC are a risk factor for the development of cholangiocarcinoma. RECENT FINDINGS The development of DS is related to s...

PURPOSE Cholangiocarcinoma is a fatal tumor with limited therapeutic options. We have reported that calmodulin antagonists tamoxifen and trifluoperazine induced apoptosis in cholangiocarcinoma cells. Here, we determined the effects of tamoxifen on tumorigenesis and the molecular mechanisms of tamoxifen-induced apoptosis. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Nude mice xenograft model of cholangiocarcinoma was ...

We herein present a rare case of myocardial metastases from intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The patient was a 68-year-old man diagnosed with stage IVb intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Growing low-density nodules at the cardiac interventricular septum and the left lateral wall were found on contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT). He died and an autopsy was performed. Intrahepatic cholangi...

A 49-year-old woman with cholangiocarcinoma metastatic to the lungs presented with new-onset unrelenting headaches. A lumbar puncture revealed malignant cells consistent with leptomeningeal metastasis from her cholangiocarcinoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed leptomeningeal enhancement. An intrathecal (IT) catheter was placed and IT chemotherapy was initiated with metho...

Intrahepatic sarcomatoid cholangiocarcinoma is a rare but an aggressive variant of cholangiocarcinoma with a very poor prognosis. We report the first caucasian patient who presented with a rapidly enlarging liver mass requiring hepatic resection. Detailed histopathological analyses including immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy confirmed sarcomatoid cholangiocarcinoma. The patient had e...

Choledochal cysts are anomalous arrangements of the pancreaticobiliary tract and a well-known aetiology for cholangiocarcinoma. The risk of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with an unresected choledochal cyst remains at 20-30%1. Of the five types of choledochal cyst, by far the most common is the extrahepatic fusiform (Type I). Management involves complete excision of the extrahepatic bile duct a...