Standardized Response Assessment in Patients with Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma Treated with Personalized Therapy

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Current guidelines recommend Cisplatin/Gemcitabine/Durvalumab as first-line treatment for inoperable or recurrent cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Molecular tumor boards (MTB) have the expertise to support organ-specific tumor boards with evidence-based treatment recommendations for subsequent lines of treatment, based on genomic tumor data and scientific evidence. This study evaluates the adoption of an MTB at a comprehensive cancer center in Germany and whether actionable genetic alterations are associated with specific imaging phenotypes. Methods: Patients with CCA referred to MTB were enrolled from May 2019 to September 2021. For comparison, a cohort of patients from a second center was included. Data on treatment recommendations, regimens, and survival were collected from prospective registries. Baseline and follow-up contrast-enhanced CT were analyzed according to RECIST 1.1. The chi-square test and t-test were used to compare categorical and continuous variables. Results: 583 patients were referred to the MTB, and 92 patients (47 female/51%) with a mean age of 60.3 ± 11.2 were referred for CCA treatment. 65/92 patients harbored 1–3 targetable mutations. Liver metastases were more frequently observed in patients with targetable mutations (84% vs. 62%). Metastasis to the liver and lung was associated with increased sums of diameters (93 mm and 111 mm vs. 40/73 mm in patients with no liver/lung metastasis). The number of metastases in individual organs was unrelated to treatment targets. Follow-up was available for 25 patients with a median time until imaging progression of 23 weeks. Progression occurred as target progression in 63%, nontarget progression in 13%, and appearance of new lesions in 63%. Conclusions: Most patients with CCA harbored targetable mutations, some were related to disease patterns on imaging. The pattern of treatment response and progression was as diverse as the metastatic spread.