Subtypes Of Biliary Tract Cancer Research Articles

Different biliary tract cancers, same operation: Importance of cancer origin in patients with hilar-invading tumors.

For patients with biliary tract cancer involving the hepatic hilum, major hepatic resection with extrahepatic bile duct resection may be required. In addition to perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHCC), the same extent of surgery is used in advanced gallbladder cancer (GBC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) with hilar involvement. Few studies compare prognostic factors and long-term outcomes across tumor types. This study compared risk characteristics and outcomes after surgery in all subtypes of biliary tract cancer with hilar involvement. Patients with biliary tract cancer with hilar involvement undergoing major liver resection and extrahepatic bile duct resection between 2011 and 2021 at a single center were retrospectively analyzed. The primary postoperative outcome was overall survival. Secondary outcomes were recurrence-free survival and postoperative complications. Survival analysis was performed with Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier method. One-hundred and eight patients were included. Seventy-three (67%) had PHCC, 24 (22%) had GBC, and 11 (10%) had IHCC. Hilar-invading IHCC and GBC had more adverse histopathological factors like lymph node positivity (p = 0.021), higher number of positive nodes (p = 0.043), and larger tumor size (p < 0.001) compared with PHCC. Peritoneal invasion and lymph node positivity were significant independent predictors for survival (p = 0.011 and p = 0.004, respectively). Median overall survival was 29 months for PHCC, 22 months for GBC and 21 months for IHCC (p = 0.53). IHCC tended to recur earlier (p = 0.046) than GBC and PHCC (6, 15, and 18 months, respectively). Patients with biliary tract cancer with hilar involvement undergoing major liver resection and resection of extrahepatic bile ducts had similar overall survival regardless of subtype, while IHCC recurred earlier. Peritoneal cancer invasion was common in all subtypes, including PHCC, and was an independent prognostic factor. This finding may support routine reporting of peritoneal invasion-status in resected biliary tract cancer.

A Phase II Placebo-Controlled Study of the Effect and Safety of Nanvuranlat in Patients with Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers Previously Treated by Systemic Chemotherapy.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nanvuranlat [an L-type amino acid transporter 1 inhibitor] monotherapy as a later-line treatment in advanced, metastatic, and refractory biliary tract cancers. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II study was conducted across fourteen leading Japanese cancer centers and hospitals. Nanvuranlat 25 mg/m2/day or placebo was given intravenously in cycles of 5 consecutive days, followed by 9 days off. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included overall survival and disease control rate. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients with high L-type amino acid transporter 1 expression and biliary tract cancer subtypes. A total of 211 patients were screened, of which 105 eligible patients were randomized. Among these, 70 received nanvuranlat and 35 received placebo. Nanvuranlat demonstrated an improvement in PFS when compared with placebo (HR, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-0.90; P = 0.02). Grade 3 or higher adverse events were reported in 30.0% and 22.9% of those in the nanvuranlat and placebo groups, respectively. The overall survival was not statistically different between nanvuranlat- and placebo-treated patients. An exploratory analysis indicated that nanvuranlat is warranted to evaluate its long-term clinical benefit in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and gallbladder cancer. Compared with placebo, nanvuranlat improved PFS in patients with advanced and refractory biliary tract cancer with an acceptable safety profile. Further studies of this promising compound are warranted in the population of patients who are exhausted from treatment options.

Identification of PANoptosis-relevant subgroups and predicting signature to evaluate the prognosis and immune landscape of patients with biliary tract cancer.

This study conducted molecular subtyping of biliary tract cancer patients based on 19 PANoptosis-related gene signatures. Through consensus clustering, patients were categorized into two subtypes, A and B. By integrating multi-omics data and clinical information from different cohorts, we elucidated the association between different subtypes of biliary tract cancer and patient prognosis, which correlated with the immune infiltration characteristics of patients. LASSO regression analysis was performed on the 19 gene signatures, and we constructed and validated a 9-gene risk score prognostic model that accurately predicts the overall survival rate of different biliary tract cancer patients. Additionally, we developed a predictive nomogram demonstrating the clinical utility and robustness of our model. Further analysis of the risk score-based immune landscape highlighted potential associations with immune cell infiltration, chemotherapy, and immune therapy response. Our study provides valuable insights into personalized treatment strategies for biliary tract cancer, which are crucial for improving patient prognosis and guiding treatment decisions in clinical practice.

Exploring the association between acute pancreatitis and biliary tract cancer: A large-scale population-based matched cohort study.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) often goes undetected until its advanced stages, resulting in a poor prognosis. Given the anatomical closeness of the gallbladder and bile ducts to the pancreas, the inflammatory processes triggered by acute pancreatitis might increase the risk of BTC. To assess the association between acute pancreatitis and the risk of BTC. Using the Swedish Pancreatitis Cohort (SwePan), we compared the BTC risk in patients with a first-time episode of acute pancreatitis during 1990-2018 to a 1:10 matched pancreatitis-free control group. Multivariable Cox regression models, stratified by follow-up duration, were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs), adjusting for socioeconomic factors, alcohol use, and comorbidities. BTC developed in 0.94% of 85,027 acute pancreatitis patients and in 0.23% of 814,993 controls. The BTC risk notably increased within 3months of hospital discharge (HR 82.63; 95% CI: 63.07-108.26) and remained elevated beyond 10years of follow-up (HR 1.82; 95% CI: 1.35-2.47). However, the long-term risk of BTC subtypes did not increase with anatomical proximity to the pancreas, with a null association for gallbladder and extrahepatic tumors. Importantly, patients with acute pancreatitis had a higher occurrence of early-stage BTC within 2years of hospital discharge than controls (13.0 vs. 3.6%; p-value <0.01). Our nationwide study found an elevated BTC risk in acute pancreatitis patients; however, the risk estimates for BTC subtypes were inconsistent, thereby questioning the causality of the association. Importantly, the amplified detection of early-stage BTC within 2years after a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis underscores the necessity for proactive BTC surveillance in these patients.

Global, regional, and national burden and trends analysis of gallbladder and biliary tract cancer from 1990 to 2019 and predictions to 2030: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

Our aim was to explore the disease burden caused by gallbladder and biliary tract cancer globally, regionally, and nationally, by age and sex. The absolute number of cases and age-standardized rates (ASR) of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to gallbladder and biliary tract cancer were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. We estimated the trends in disease burden by calculating the percentage change in the absolute number of cases and the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) in ASR, by social development index (SDI), region, nation, sex, and age. From 1990 to 2019, the number of incident cases, prevalent cases, deaths, and DALYs worldwide significantly increased by 1.85-fold, 1.92-fold, 1.82-fold, and 1.68-fold, respectively. However, the age-standardized rates of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALYs tend to decrease globally over time. Nevertheless, heterogeneous disease burden patterns exist between geographic regions due to different geographical risk factors, distinct epidemiologically predominant gallbladder and biliary tract cancer subtypes, and potential genetic predispositions or ethnicity. Additionally, socioeconomic status mediates the regional variation in disease burden, with increasing SDI or HDI scores associated with downward trends in the age-standardized rates of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALYs. Older individuals and females are at higher risk of gallbladder and biliary tract cancer, but the increasing burden of early-onset gallbladder and biliary tract cancer is a cause for concern, especially for those living in lower SDI areas and males. High BMI is the primary risk factors underlying gallbladder and biliary tract cancer, accounted for 15.2% of deaths and 15.7% DALYs globally in 2019. Our study comprehensively elucidated the distribution and dynamic trends of gallbladder and biliary tract cancer burden over the past three decades, from multiple dimensions. These findings emphasize the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle as a population-level cancer prevention strategy and tailoring cancer control actions based on localized risk factors and the epidemic profiles of gallbladder and biliary tract cancer by anatomical subtype.

Epidemiology of biliary tract cancer in China: A narrative review.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is a group of rare malignancies that affect the gallbladder and bile ducts. Although rare, BTC is becoming a significant public health burden in China, particularly among males and older individuals. The increasing trends in BTC incidence and mortality in China are influenced by various demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. In this review, we examine available epidemiological data on the incidence, mortality, prognosis, and trends of different BTC subtypes in China. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities for improving the prevention, diagnosis, and management of BTC in China, and identify areas for further research and intervention. The article aims to provide a better understanding of the epidemiological features of BTC in China and to inform public health strategies and clinical practice.

Increased Prevalence of Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency in Patients with Biliary Tract Cancer and Its Associated Clinicopathological Features.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) is underdiagnosed and associated with liver diseases. Here, we genotyped 130 patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC) scheduled for liver resection and found A1ATD in 10.8% of the patients. A1ATD was found in all BTC subtypes, and patients had similar clinical features as non-A1ATD BTC, not permitting their identification using clinical routine liver tests. In intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), the abundance of A1AT protein was increased in the tumor and appeared to be influenced by the genomic alterations. On the one hand, BTC with A1ATD had lower perineural invasion at histopathology and displayed a longer survival, suggesting that a deficiency in this protein is associated with a less aggressive phenotype. On the other hand, iCCA with high A1AT expression had more advanced tumor staging and enriched pathways for complement system and extracellular matrix interactions, indicating that A1AT protein might contribute to a more aggressive phenotype. With increased awareness, screening, and basic studies, A1ATD could represent one more layer of stratification for future targeted therapies in BTC.

Subgroup analysis of double-blind, placebo-controlled Ph. 2 study of nanvuranlat in treatment of pre-treated, advanced, refractory biliary tract cancer (BTC): Patients with high LAT1 expression and response to nanvuranlat.

4011 Background: L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1, SLC7A5) is overexpressed in cancer cells leading to aggressive proliferation and lymphatic metastases. LAT1 sustains energy resources by supplying essential amino acids to the TCA cycle in chemotherapy-resistant cancer cells. LAT1 is a documented marker of poor prognosis. In a placebo-controlled, randomized trial involving patients with pre-treated, advanced, refractory biliary tract cancer (BTC), monotherapy with nanvuranlat (JPH203), a selective LAT1 inhibitor, demonstrated a significant improvement in progression free survival (PFS) compared to placebo. Subgroup analysis was conducted to determine whether the level of expression of LAT1 affects nanvuranlat efficacy. Methods: Patients with four different subtypes of advanced BTC were enrolled: intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and gallbladder and ampulla of Vater cancers. All were refractory to or intolerant of standard chemotherapy and other investigational medicines. Our analysis compared efficacy and safety in the subgroup with high LAT1 expression and all patients group. LAT1 expression was immunohistochemically evaluated in tumor specimens of BTC patients at baseline, as defined by Yanagisawa N, et al. (Cancer Med 2014). Results: At data cut-off (Feb 28, 2022), 211 BTC patients consented at 14 centers in Japan, and 104 patients were randomized (2:1) to nanvuranlat (n = 69) or placebo (n = 35) as the full analysis set (FAS) population. Among the samples immunohistochemically evaluable for LAT1, 62.5% had high LAT1 expression. There was no significant difference in background demography between all patient group and the high-LAT1 subgroup. Nanvuranlat met its primary endpoint (FAS by the blinded independent central review (BICR)), demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in PFS by BICR in comparison with the placebo group. The hazard ratios were further improved with nanvuranlat versus placebo, on analysis of the high-LAT1 subgroup of patients in both PFS and OS. Safety was comparable between nanvuranlat and placebo, on analysis of the high-LAT1 subgroup. Conclusions: This subgroup analysis indicates that the efficacy of nanvuranlat in PFS and OS is enhanced in BTC patients with high LAT1 expression, when compared with placebo. Safety profiles were similar for nanvuranlat- and placebo-treated patients in this subgroup analysis. Clinical trial information: UMIN000034080 . [Table: see text]

Nanvuranlat, an L-type amino acid transporter (LAT1) inhibitor for patients with pretreated advanced refractory biliary tract cancer (BTC): Primary endpoint results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study.

494 Background: LAT1 is a transporter ( SLC7A5) of L-type amino acid. Overexpression in cancer cells supports aggressive proliferation. High expression of LAT1 in tumor specimens has been identified as a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with various cancer types, including BTC. The efficacy and safety of nanvuranlat (JPH203), a first-in-class, single agent that selectively inhibits LAT1, was evaluated in patients with pretreated, advanced, refractory BTC in a placebo-controlled randomized trial. Methods: Patients with four different subtypes of advanced BTC were enrolled: intrahepatic (IHC), extrahepatic (EHC), gallbladder (GBC) and ampulla of Vater (AVC). All were refractory to or intolerant of standard chemotherapy and other investigational medicines. Patients were pre-classified as non-rapid acetylators via N-acetyltransferase 2 ( NAT2), to maximize efficacy/safety by minimizing the metabolism of nanvuranlat. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), assessed by blinded independent center review (BICR), using RECIST 1.1. Results: At data cut-off (February 28, 2022), 211 BTC patients were consented at 14 centers in Japan. Using NAT2 testing for classification, a total of 106 patients were randomized (2:1) to nanvuranlat (n = 70) or placebo (n = 36). Nanvuranlat met its primary endpoint and demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in PFS by BICR in comparison with the placebo group (Hazard Ratio = 0.557; 95% CI, 0.3435 – 0.9029; one-sided p = 0.0164). The disease control rate (DCR) in the nanvuranlat group was approximately 25% (average = 24.6%) across all BTC subtypes, while it was 11.4% in the placebo group. Grade 3 adverse events were reported in 30.0% for nanvuranlat vs 22.9% for placebo. Treatment-related adverse event rates were respectively 41.4% and 57.1% in the nanvuranlat and placebo groups. No patient had adverse events leading to nanvuranlat treatment discontinuation, dose reduction, or death. Conclusions: The study met the primary endpoint. LAT1 inhibitor monotherapy with nanvuranlat demonstrated useful clinical efficacy in patients with four different subtypes of pre-treated, advanced, refractory BTC. Safe and highly tolerated profile was also documented. Clinical trial information: UMIN000034080 .

Second line drug therapy for biliary cancer

Biliary cancer is a group of tumors that develop from the epithelium of the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts (cholangiocarcino-ma), as well as the gallbladder. For 10 years, chemotherapy based on a combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin has remained the standard of first-line therapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic biliary cancer, resulting in a median overall survival of 11.7 months. With the progression of the disease on the first line, effective options did not previously exist. Attempts to use various chemotherapeutic regimens, both in monotherapy and in combination, have not been successful. In order not to leave the patient without treatment, fluoropyrimidines, their combinations with oxaliplatin or irinotecan, are empirically prescribed as follow-up therapy. In recent years, different subtypes of biliary tract cancer have been defined depending on the anatomical location and genetic and/or epigenetic aberrations. Especially for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma novel therapeutic targets have been identified, including fibroblast growth factor receptor gene fusions 2 (FGFR2) and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations (IDH1/2), with molecularly targeted agents having shown evidence of activity in this subgroup of patients. Additionally, other pathways are being evaluated in both intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and other subtypes of biliary tract cancer, alongside targeting of the immune microenvironment. The growing knowledge of biliary tract cancer biology and molecular heterogeneity has paved the way for the development of new therapeutic approaches that will completely change the treatment paradigm for this disease in the near future. In this review, we review recently published data on the use of second-line therapy after progression with standard first-line therapy in patients with biliary cancer.

FGFR2 Inhibition in Cholangiocarcinoma.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is the second most common primary liver cancer after hepatocellular carcinoma and accounts for 2% of cancer-related deaths. BTCs are classified according to their anatomical origin into intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar, or distal cholangiocarcinoma, as well as gall bladder carcinoma. While the mutational profiles in these anatomical BTC subtypes overlap to a large extent, iCCA is notable for the high frequency of IDH1/2 mutations (10-22%) and the nearly exclusive occurrence of FGFR2 fusions in 10-15% of patients. In recent years, FGFR2 fusions have become one of the most promising targets for precision oncology targeting BTC, with FGFR inhibitors already approved in Europe and the United States for patients with advanced, pretreated iCCA. While the therapeutic potential of nonfusion alterations is still under debate, it is expected that the field of FGFR2-directed therapies will be subject to rapid further evolution and optimization. The scope of this review is to provide an overview of oncogenic FGFR signaling in iCCA cells and highlight the pathophysiology, diagnostic testing strategies, and therapeutic promises and challenges associated with FGFR2-altered iCCA.

Descriptive epidemiology of biliary tract cancer incidence and geographic variation in Japan.

The epidemiologic features of each biliary tract cancer (BTC) subtype have not been studied and disclosed in detail. The objective of this study was to provide an up-to-date description of the epidemiologic features of BTC by subtypes, especially in terms of the geographic variation of its incidence. We calculated the age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of each BTC subtype at national and prefectural levels using the data from the national cancer registry in 2016 and 2017. The geographic distribution of each BTC subtype incidence was assessed by calculating the ASR ratio (ASRR) against median ASR at the prefectural level and reflecting them on the Japanese map. A total of 58 438 people diagnosed with malignant BTC were registered in the national cancer registry in 2016 and 2017 [12 497 for intrahepatic bile duct cancer (IHBDC), 16 568 for gallbladder cancer (GBC), 24 602 for extrahepatic bile duct cancer (EHBDC), 4613 for ampulla of Vater cancer (AVC) and 158 for others]. ASR was higher in men than in women for IHBDC, EHBDC and AVC, and similar between men and women for GBC. The ASR of EHBDC was approximately 2 times higher than those of the other subtypes for men and similar to that of GBC for women. The geographic distribution of ASRR was different among BTC subtypes, with larger variability in EHBDC, which was remarkably higher in the north-eastern region in both men and women. The pattern of the geographic distribution of incidence in each BTC subtype was different, which suggests different etiology among subtypes.

Insulin therapy and biliary tract cancer: insights from real-world data.

ObjectiveThe association between insulin therapy and the risk of biliary tract cancer (BTC) is uncertain. We aimed to assess this risk in type 2 diabetic patients.MethodsUsing electronic medical data from the Shanghai Hospital Link database, 202,557 patients with type 2 diabetes (164,997 insulin never-users and 37,560 insulin ever-users) were identified in this study between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016, with follow-up until December 31, 2019. By propensity score matching, an ever-user was matched with a never-user. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to estimate risk ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for three subtypes of BTC (intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC), and gallbladder cancer (GBC)).ResultsAt a mean follow-up of 5.33 years, 143 cases of BTC were observed. The crude incidence rates (per 100,000 person-years) of ECC, ICC, and GBC in ever-users:never-users were 10.22:3.63, 2.04:2.04, and 8.17:6.01, respectively. Insulin therapy was associated with an increased risk of ECC (HR, 4.10; 95% CI, 1.54–10.92; P = 0.005) compared to patients who never used insulin. No statistically significant results were observed for insulin and ICC/GBC. Consistent results were also found in the original cohort.ConclusionsThe relationship between insulin therapy and BTC is type-specific. Further studies are warranted to provide evidence on the identification of ECC risk groups among type 2 diabetic patients.

Potential utility of liquid biopsies in the management of patients with biliary tract cancers: A review.

Biliary tract cancer, comprising gallbladder cancer, cholangiocarcinoma and ampullary cancer, represents a more uncommon entity outside high-endemic areas, though global incidence is rising. The majority of patients present at a late stage, and 5-year survival remains poor. Advanced stage disease is incurable, and though palliative chemotherapy has been shown to improve survival, further diagnostic and therapeutic options are required in order to improve patient outcomes. Although certain subtypes of biliary tract cancer are relatively rich in targetable mutations, attaining tumour tissue for histological diagnosis and treatment monitoring is challenging due to locoregional anatomical constraints and patient fitness. Liquid biopsies offer a safe and convenient alternative to invasive procedures and have great potential as diagnostic, predictive and prognostic biomarkers. In this review, the current standard of care for patients with biliary tract cancer, future treatment horizons and the possible utility of liquid biopsies within a variety of contexts will be discussed. Circulating tumour DNA, circulating microRNA and circulating tumour cells are discussed with an overview of their potential applications in management of biliary tract cancer. A summary is also provided of currently recruiting clinical trials incorporating liquid biopsies within biliary tract cancer research.

Postdiagnosis Aspirin Use Associated With Decreased Biliary Tract Cancer-Specific Mortality in a Large Nationwide Cohort.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is rare and has limited treatment options. We aimed to examine aspirin use on cancer-specific survival in various BTC subtypes, including gallbladder cancer, ampulla of Vater cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma. Nationwide prospective cohort of newly diagnosed BTC between 2007 and 2015 were included and followed until December 31, 2017. Three nationwide databases, namely the Cancer Registration, National Health Insurance, and Death Certification System, were used for computerized data linkage. Aspirin use was defined as one or more prescriptions, and the maximum defined daily dose was used to evaluate the dose-response relationship. Cox's proportional hazards models were applied for estimating HRs and 95% CIs. Analyses accounted for competing risk of cardiovascular deaths, and landmark analyses to avoid immortal time bias were performed. In total, 2,519 of patients with BTC were exposed to aspirin after their diagnosis (15.7%). After a mean follow-up of 1.59years, the 5-year survival rate was 27.4%. The multivariate-adjusted HR for postdiagnosis aspirin users, as compared with nonusers, was 0.55 (95% CI: 0.51 to 0.58) for BTC-specific death. Adjusted HRs for BTC-specific death were 0.53 (95% CI: 0.48 to 0.59) and 0.42 (95% CI: 0.31 to 0.58) for ≤ 1 and > 1 maximum defined daily dose, respectively, and showed a dose-response trend (P<0.001; nonusers as a reference). Cancer-specific mortality was lower with postdiagnosis aspirin use in patients with all major BTC subtypes. The nationwide study revealed that postdiagnosis aspirin use was associated with improved BTC-specific mortality of various subtypes. The findings suggest that additional randomized trials are required to investigate aspirin's efficacy in BTC.

Abstract 2041: Genetic profiling of DNA damage repair genes in hepatobiliary cancer

Abstract Background: Hepatobiliary cancers are genetically and clinically heterogenous. Current precision therapy for hepatobiliary cancers is limited and only benefits a minority. New biomarkers and precision therapy are needed to improve clinical outcome of hepatobiliary cancer patients. Method: Tumor samples of 379 hepatocellular cancer (HCC) patients and 490 biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients from Chinese population were genetically profiled using the targeted next-generation sequencing. Nonsynonymous mutations and copy number variations (CNV) of tumor samples were analyzed. The R package ReactomePA was used for pathway enrichment analysis. Tumor mutation burden was calculated by counting all nonsynonymous mutations per megabase of coding sequence. Subgroup analyses were performed to test the correlation between clinical, pathological, and genetic covariates. Results: The pathway analysis of somatic mutations in HCC and BTC showed mutation enrichment in the DNA damage repair (DDR) pathway (including TP53), of which mutations were found over 70% patients (78% in HCC and 73% in BTC). The most prevalent DDR mutations occurred in TP53 (56% in BTC and 65% in HCC) and ATM (8.2% in BTC and 4.5% in HCC), which was followed by ATR in HCC (4.2%) and BRCA2 in BTC (4.1%). A co-occurrence of DDR wild type and low TMB was found. In DDR-mutant and DDR-wild-type groups, the percentage of TMB-high patients was 15% vs. 4% for HCC, and 15% vs. 0% for BTC, which suggests a negative predictive value of DDR wild type for high TMB. In both HCC and BTC, mutations in homologous recombination repair (HRR), mismatch repair (MMR) and base excision repair (BER) pathways were significantly correlated with high TMB (p-value &amp;lt; 0.001). Interestingly, compared to HCC, BTC showed additional associations of the mutations in Fanconi anemia and cell-cycle checkpoint pathways with high TMB (p-value &amp;lt; 0.001). Among the four BTC subtypes, TMB-high patients were relatively enriched in gall bladder cancer and peri-hilar cholangiocarcinoma (13% vs. 9% in intra-hepatic and distal cholangiocarcinoma). Furthermore, gall bladder cancer showed higher than average abundance of BRCA2 mutations (6.3%), which was recently proposed as an actionable target for PARP inhibitor treatment. All CNVs of DDR genes were copy number loss and they were much more frequent in HCC than BTC (18% vs. 6%). However, CNVs of DDR genes were found not significantly associated with high TMB. Conclusions: Our genetic profiling of hepatobiliary cancer mutations demonstrated that DDR mutations in specific pathways could serve as useful biomarkers for rational patient selection for targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Citation Format: Zhenhao Fang, Qiuxiang Ou, Rui Liu, Hua Bao, Xue Wu, Yang Shao. Genetic profiling of DNA damage repair genes in hepatobiliary cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2041.

Genomic profiling of biliary tract cancers to reveal clinically actionable genes and therapeutic biomarkers.

e16187 Background: Bile tract cancers are genetically and clinically heterogenous with a poor prognosis. Identifying novel biomarkers for targeted therapy is required to improve the clinical outcome of bile tract cancer patients. Methods: Tumor tissue samples of 482 Chinese biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients were genetically profiled using targeted next generation sequencing. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) was calculated by counting all nonsynonymous mutations per megabase of coding sequences. The R package ReactomePA was used in pathway enrichment analysis. Genomic instability was characterized by an in-house developed NGS-based Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) panel and a HRD score was an unweighted sum of loss of heterozygosity (LOH), telomeric allelic imbalance (TAI), and large-scale state transitions (LST) scores. Results: The BTC cohort consisted of 135 gallbladder cancer (GBC), 73 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), 18 distal cholangiocarcinoma (dCCA), 14 perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA), while the remaining 242 BTC patients of no specific subtype information. Most frequently mutated genes included TP53 (56%), KRAS (25%), ARID1A (17%), SMAD4 (11%), and CDKN2A (10%) . A preliminary pathway analysis revealed that mutations of DNA damage repair (DDR) pathway genes were enriched in the cohort ( p&lt; 1e-10), accounting for over 70% of the patients, particularly in homologous recombination repair (HRR), Fanconi anemia (FA), mismatch repair (MMR), and base excision repair (BER) genes. More specifically, approximately 50% of the cohort carried at least one mutation of the HRR genes (43%) or MMR genes (14%). Patients with impaired MMR had increased microsatellite instability status (MSI) comparing to those with wildtype MMR (33% vs. 3.1%, p&lt; 0.0001), and patients harboring HRR mutations demonstrated elevated genomic instability than those without such mutations (median HRD: 18 vs.14, p &lt; 0.05), indicative of potential response to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and other DNA-damage agents. Furthermore, high TMB was found to be highly correlated with DDR gene alterations ( p =0.004). In addition, we observed higher mutation frequencies of BRCA1/2 genes (including somatic and germline) in GBCs in contrast to other BTC subtypes. Conclusions: We herein reported the genomic features of 482 Chinese BTC samples and highlighted the role of DDR pathways including HRR and MMR. These findings could be useful to establish treatment and diagnostic strategies for BTC patients based on genetic information.

Promising Molecular Targets for the Targeted Therapy of Biliary Tract Cancers: An Overview.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death, due to the limited benefits of current systematic therapies and the heterogeneity of the tumor itself. High heterogeneity means that the clinical and molecular features vary between different subtypes of BTC, while the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Targeted therapy, where inhibitors are developed to selectively combine with targeted molecules in order to block abnormal signaling pathways in BTC, has shown promise as an emerging form of treatment for various types of cancer. In this article, a comprehensive review is conducted to examine potential molecular targets for BTC targeted therapy and their mechanisms. Furthermore, preliminary data published from clinical trials is utilized to analyze the main drugs used to combat BTC. The collective information presented in this article has provided useful insights into the current understanding of BTC.

Biliary Tract Cancers: Molecular Heterogeneity and New Treatment Options.

Simple SummaryIncidence of biliary tract cancer is increasing, and patients are frequently diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic disease, when therapeutic options are limited. Due to these reasons, prognosis remains poor and new systemic treatment options are urgently needed. This article reviews the new available data on molecular heterogeneity of biliary tract cancer and especially intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and the novel therapeutic strategies offered by the improved knowledge of the biology of this disease. For these reasons, this topic is of relevant interest for the oncology and hepatology community.Most patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC) are diagnosed with advanced disease, relapse rates are high in those undergoing surgery and prognosis remains poor, while the incidence is increasing. Treatment options are limited, and chemotherapy is still the standard of care in both adjuvant and advanced disease setting. In recent years, different subtypes of BTC have been defined depending on the anatomical location and genetic and/or epigenetic aberrations. Especially for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) novel therapeutic targets have been identified, including fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene fusions and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations, with molecularly targeted agents having shown evidence of activity in this subgroup of patients. Additionally, other pathways are being evaluated in both iCCA and other subtypes of BTC, alongside targeting of the immune microenvironment. The growing knowledge of BTC biology and molecular heterogeneity has paved the way for the development of new therapeutic approaches that will completely change the treatment paradigm for this disease in the near future. This review provides an overview of the molecular heterogeneity of BTC and summarizes new targets and emerging therapies in development. We also discuss resistance mechanisms, open issues, and future perspectives in the management of BTC.

P-109 Global mortality for biliary tract cancer

Biliary Tract Cancer (BTC) represents a high disease burden due to late diagnosis, poor prognosis, and limited treatment options. Current knowledge is limited regarding the global mortality of various subtypes of BTC and how that may have changed during the past decade.