BILIARY TRACT AND GALLBLADDER CANCER
Note: The information on this website is not a substitute for
diagnosis and treatment by a qualified, licensed professional.
The role of chemotherapy and radiation in the management of biliary cancer: a review of the literature.
Hejna M; Pruckmayer M; Raderer M.
Eur J Cancer, 34(7):977-86 1998 Jun.This article emphasizes that to date, there is no valid evidence indicating that chemotherapy and radiation therapy improve survival in patients with biliary tract cancer. The authors evaluated 65 published studies and found that most of them included a small number of patients and lacked a control arm. The few studies in which patients receiving radiotherapy were compared to controls, did not find any survival advantage associated with treatment. In the only randomized trial that investigated the effects of chemotherapy, a small survival advantage was shown, but the study was performed on a small number of patients and the validity of its conclusions can be confirmed only in larger trials. In conclusion, chemotherapy and radiation therapy have no established role in the management of patients with biliary tract cancer.
Gallbladder carcinoma: a 28 year experience.
Frezza EE, Mezghebe H.
Int Surg 1997 Jul-Sep;82(3):295-300.This study reviewed all cases of gallbladder cancer treated at Howard University during the past 28 years, plus the literature published on the subject during the last 20 years, to determine the efficacy of non-surgical therapies in the management of gallbladder cancer. No improved survival was observed in patients treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Prospective randomized trial comparing modified FAM (5-fluorouracil (5-FU) + adriamycin + mitomycin C) versus 5-FU alone for the treatment of non-resectable pancreatic and biliary tract carcinomas (the 1st trial in non-resectable patients).
Study Group of Surgical Adjuvant Therapy for Carcinomas of the Pancreas and Biliary Tract. Article in Japanese.
Takada T; et al.
Gan To Kagaku Ryoho, 19(9):1295-301 1992 Aug.The results of this study show that combination chemotherapy is not associated with better relapse-free and overall survival in patients with advanced pancreatic and biliary tract cancer, compared to single-agent chemotherapy.
