Adjuvant therapy for resected extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A review of the literature and future directions

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare neoplasm originating from the intra- or extrahepatic bile duct epithelium, Incidence has been increasing worldwide in the last three decades. Complete surgical resection provides the only possibility of cure, but even with resection 5-yr survival can be as low as 11%. Adjuvant therapy has the potential to play a crucial role in prolonging survival and local control. Retrospective series have suggested benefit to adjuvant radiation, chemotherapy or concurrent chemo-radiation. The scarce prospective data has not shown a survival benefit to adjuvant therapy. In this article we review and summarize the published data regarding adjuvant therapy for resected extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Prospective, multi-instiutional randomized trials are needed to clarify the role of adjuvant therapy in this disease. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.