Available online 14 September 2022, 101851

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare and aggressive malignancy with a high case fatality.

Surgical resection with curative intent remains the best opportunity to achieve meaningful long-term survival.

Less than 20% of patients are candidates for surgical resection.

Even patients who undergo resection have a 5-year survival that ranges from 20 to 40%. Biomarkers are indicators of normal, pathologic, or biologic responses to an intervention.

Novel biomarkers and improved molecular diagnostics represent an attractive opportunity to improve detection as well as to identify novel therapeutic targets for patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

This review highlights latest advances in molecular diagnostics and biomarkers related to the early detection and treatment of patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Regardless of anatomic origin, cholangiocarcinoma is generally an aggressive malignancy with a relatively high case fatality. Surgical resection with curative intent remains the best opportunity to achieve meaningful long-term survival. Most patients present, however, with advanced disease and less than 20% of patients are candidates for surgical resection. Unfortunately, even patients who undergo resection have a 5-year survival that ranges from 20 to 40%. Biomarkers are indicators of normal, pathologic, or biologic responses to an intervention and can range from a characteristic (i.e., blood pressure reading which can detect hypertension) to specific genetic mutations or proteins (i.e., carcinoembryonic antigen level). Novel biomarkers and improved molecular diagnostics represent an attractive opportunity to improve detection as well as to identify novel therapeutic targets for patients with cholangiocarcinoma. We herein review the latest advances in molecular diagnostics and biomarkers related to the early detection and treatment of patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Cholangiocarcinoma

Biomarker

Diagnostics

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