Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is a rare cancer with an increasing incidence. In the palliative setting for patients with unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment approach. However, little is known about the role of adding systemic chemotherapy to PDT. In a phase II randomized study, 21 patients were randomly assigned to receive PDT with S-1 chemotherapy or PDT alone. The 1-year survival rate for patients treated with the combination was significantly higher than for those receiving PDT alone (76.2% versus 32%, respectively). Importantly, the overall survival was also significantly improved for patients receiving PDT and S-1 (17 months versus 8 months). Progression-free survival was also prolonged with the combination, and the treatment was well tolerated. These promising results warrant further investigation of this combination in patients with unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma.
References
Park, D. H. et al. Randomised phase II trial of photodynamic therapy plus oral fluoropyrimidine, S-1, versus photodynamic herapy alone for unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Eur. J. Cancer 10.1016/j.ejca.2014.01.008
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Photodynamic therapy plus S-1 for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 11, 178 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.28
