Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Tumour heterogeneity and its clinical relevance

Autor: Mina Komuta
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, Vol 28, Iss 3, Pp 396-407 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2287-2728
2287-285X
DOI: 10.3350/cmh.2021.0287
Popis: Treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is currently at a significant turning point due to the identification of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) fusions that can be targeted with currently available therapies. Clinical trials of these targeted therapies have been promising, and the iCCA patients who may benefit from these targeted treatments can be identified by pathological examination prior to molecular investigations. This is because IDH mutations and FGFR fusions are mainly seen in the small duct type iCCA, a subtype of iCCA defined by the 5th World Health Organization classification, which can be recognized by the pathological diagnostic process. Therefore, pathology plays an important role in precision medicine for iCCA, not only in confirming the diagnosis, but also in identifying the iCCA patients who may benefit from targeted treatments. However, caution is advised with the pathological diagnosis, as iCCA shows tumour heterogeneity, making it difficult to distinguish small duct type iCCA from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and combined HCC-CCA. This review focuses on the pathological/molecular features of both subtypes of iCCA (large and small duct types), as well as their diagnostic pitfalls, clinical relevance, and future perspectives.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals