Title:Molecular Biomarkers in Cholangiocarcinoma: Focus on Bile
Volume: 24
Issue: 8
Author(s): Andrey D. Dolbnya, Igor A. Popov and Stanislav I. Pekov*
Affiliation:
- Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk, 634050, Russian Federation
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology,
Dolgoprudny, 141701, Russian Federation
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, 121205, Russian
Federation
Keywords:
Cholangiocarcinoma, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Hepatobiliary cancer, Bile ducts, Bile acids, Biomarker, Mass spectrometry.
Abstract:
Hepatobiliary system cancers have demonstrated an increasing incidence rate in the
past years. Without the presence of early symptoms, the majority of such cancers manifest with a
set of similar symptoms, such as cholestasis resulting in posthepatic icterus. Differential diagnosis
of hepatobiliary cancers is required for the therapy selection, however, the similarity of the symptoms
complicates diagnostics. Thus, the search for molecular markers is of high interest for such
patients.
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is characterized by a poor prognosis due to a low resectability rate,
which occurs because this disease is frequently beyond the limits of surgical therapy at the time of
diagnosis. The CCA is diagnosed by the combination of clinical/biochemical features, radiological
methods, and non-specific serum tumor biomarkers, although invasive examination is still needed.
The main disadvantage is limited specificity and sensitivity, which complicates early diagnostics.
Therefore, prognostic and predictive biomarkers are still lacking and urgently needed for early diagnosis.
In contrast to serum, bile is more accessible to identify biliary disease due to its simpler
composition. Moreover, bile can contain higher concentrations of tumor biomarkers due to its direct
contact with the tumor. It is known that the composition of the main bile component - bile
acids, may vary during different diseases of the biliary tract.
This review summarizes the recent developments in the current research on the diagnostic biomarkers
for CCA in serum and bile and provides an overview of the methods of bile acids analysis.
