Research has shown that simple blood tests can predict the likelihood of recurrence of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

 

The pathway through which bile produced in the liver flows down to the duodenum is called the bile duct. The part inside the liver is called the intrahepatic bile duct, and the part connected from outside the liver to the duodenum is called the extrahepatic bile duct. Cancers that develop in the extrahepatic bile duct have a high recurrence rate of 50-70% even after surgery. However, there has been no method available to predict the likelihood of recurrence in advance.

 

Professor Yoo Chang-hoon’s team from the Department of Oncology at Seoul Asan Medical Center analyzed the correlation between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection and disease-free survival in 89 patients who underwent surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy for extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma between January 2017 and November 2020, using blood tests for ctDNA analysis.

Circulating tumor nucleic acids are remnants of cancer cells. As cancer cells grow, they transform the surrounding normal cells, and fragments of genes that are specifically altered, known as circulating tumor nucleic acids, float in the blood. Recently, the medical community both domestically and internationally has been focusing on circulating tumor nucleic acid tests as a method for early prediction of cancer occurrence. It is possible to determine the presence or absence of circulating tumor nucleic acids through a blood test.

The research team conducted blood tests three times: before adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery, 12 weeks after adjuvant chemotherapy, and 24 weeks after.

 

Analysis results showed that when circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) was positive, the risk of cancer recurrence was approximately four times higher than when it was negative. In cases where circulating tumor DNA changed from positive to negative, the survival rate was similar to those who remained consistently negative. Among 11 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma recurrence detected by CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), three had circulating tumor DNA turn from negative to positive an average of 222 days before recurrence was detected, and five had this change an average of 174 days prior. Tumor marker tests such as CA19-9 and CEA at the time of circulating tumor DNA conversion to positive were normal, indicating that circulating tumor DNA had a superior ability to predict recurrence compared to these markers.

 

Professor Yoo Chang-hoon stated, "Extrahepatic bile duct cancer has a high recurrence rate even after surgery, and there has been a continuous demand in clinical practice for biomarkers that can more accurately predict the risk of recurrence." He added, "By detecting circulating tumor DNA through a simple blood test before discovering cancer recurrence via CT or MRI, we can early identify the possibility of recurrence and enable proactive treatment."

 

==================

A disease that comes quietly and unnoticed

It's called the hepatopancreatic region.

 

It seems that the recurrence rate is also high.

 

If it can be known through a blood test

It will be very helpful.

It seems like they perform ultrasound examinations quite frequently.