Transarterial chemoembolization of intrahepatic cholangiocarinoma with irinotecan-eluting beads: preliminary results

Purpose: Patients with unresectable cholangiocarcinoma have a poor prognosis with no standard systemic chemotherapy being established so far. According to recent publications patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma even respond to chemotherapy to a lesser extent than patients with extrahepatic choangiocarcinoma. Therefore, we performed a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads (DEB-TACE) in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: Thirteen patients (7 female, 6 male) with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarci…