Abstract
The current status and future of chemotherapy in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) was reviewed. The treatment strategy and effect of chemotherapy vary according to the original site of CCAs. Therefore, it is inevitable to separately conduct clinical trials depending on each CCA. The combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) is now regarded as the standard chemotherapy for CCAs. In Japan, many trials have been conducted with S-1 based regimens. Of them, the combination of S-1 and gemcitabine is suspected to be equal to GC, clinical trial for which is now in progress (JCOG1113). Meanwhile, the combination of molecular target drugs with conventional drugs will be a great advancement with regard to chemotherapy for CCAs. The ABC-03 study (2014) specifically comprised GC with or without cediranib, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and addition of cediranib, expecting a longer survival of patients. In future, appropriate countermeasures based on various risk factors and exploration of useful biomarkers of CCAs are required.
