New insights on cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a devastating cancer arising from the neoplastic transformation of the biliary epithelium. It is characterized by a progressive increase in incidence and prevalence. The only curative therapy is radical surgery or liver transplantation but, unfortunately, the majority of patients present with advanced stage disease, which is not amenable to surgical therapies. Recently, proposed serum and bile biomarkers could help in the screening and surveillance of categories at risk and in diagnosing CCA at an early stage. The molecular mechanisms triggering neoplastic transformation and growth of biliary epithelium are still undefined, but significant progress has been achieved in the last few years. This review deals with the most recent advances on epidemiology, biology, and clinical management of CCA. (C) 2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.