Immunotherapy for cholangiocarcinoma: a 2021 update

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare malignancy with generally dismal prognosis. Immunotherapy has revolutionized the management of cancer patients during the last decade, offering durable responses with an acceptable safety profile, but there are still no significant advances regarding CCA. Novel immunotherapeutic methods, such as cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses, adoptive cell therapy and combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors with other agents are currently under investigation and may improve prognosis. Efforts to find robust biomarkers for response are also ongoing. In this review, we discuss the rationale for the use of immunotherapy in CCA and available clinical data. Ongoing trials will also be presented, as well as key findings from each study.

Automated summary

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare malignancy with poor prognosis, and while immunotherapy has significantly improved cancer patient management in the past decade, challenges remain in treating CCA. Research on novel immunotherapeutic methods and identifying valuable biomarkers for treatment response are ongoing in order to advance treatment options for patients with CCA.