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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2025; 17(10): 110415
Published online Oct 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i10.110415
Published online Oct 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i10.110415
Current insights and future perspectives of treatment strategies for biliary tract cancer
Kei Nakagawa, Yu Katayose, Kenichiro Yambe, Hiroto Sakurai, Kazuhiro Takami, Noriko Kondo, Kuniharu Yamamoto, Division of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai 983-8536, Miyagi, Japan
Shingo Tsujinaka, Chikashi Shibata, Division of Gastroenterologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai 983-8536, Miyagi, Japan
Co-corresponding authors: Kei Nakagawa and Shingo Tsujinaka.
Author contributions: Nakagawa K conceptualized and designed the study, drafted the manuscript; Nakagawa K and Tsujinaka S made equal contributions as co-corresponding authors; Tsujinaka S and Katayose Y provided critical review of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Nakagawa reports personal fees from Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Insight Co., Ltd., and AstraZeneca Co., Ltd., outside the submitted work.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kei Nakagawa, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 1-15-1 Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai 983-8536, Miyagi, Japan.
Received: June 6, 2025
Revised: June 29, 2025
Accepted: August 26, 2025
Published online: October 15, 2025
Processing time: 130 Days and 9.5 Hours
Revised: June 29, 2025
Accepted: August 26, 2025
Published online: October 15, 2025
Processing time: 130 Days and 9.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Radical resection is an important treatment for biliary tract cancer (BTC). However, radical resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma is associated with a high incidence of complications and mortality. Preoperative assessment of the resectability and meticulous perioperative management are essential. Adjuvant chemotherapy has recently been developed for cases that are deemed unresectable. Additionally, immune checkpoint inhibitors and molecular-target agents are recent additions to the treatment options. Improvements in the overall treatment outcomes for BTC are expected. A multidisciplinary treatment strategy centered on surgical treatment of BTC will contribute to more successful outcomes.