Stereotactic radiotherapy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Abstract

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is an aggressive malignancy with an increasing incidence worldwide and poor prognosis, despite several advances and continuous efforts to develop effective treatments. Complete surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment and offers a potentially curative option, but is only possible in less than a third of patients, owing to advanced disease. Chemotherapy is a well-established treatment in the adjuvant and palliative setting, however, confers limited benefit. Conventional radiotherapy is challenging due to local toxicity. With recent advances in stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), it is now possible to focus ablative beams of radiotherapy precisely aimed at tumours to minimise damage to surrounding viscera. This review details the history, technical background and application of SABR to iCCA, with directions for future research suggested.

Keywords: Cholangiocarcinoma; Hepatectomy; Intrahepatic; Liver cancer; Radiotherapy; Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy; Stereotactic body radiotherapy.