What is intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma?

Hi,
this may explain the complexity of ICCA subtypes.

Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

An increasing global incidence of ICC [5] has recently hastened research in this field to understand the mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of this dreadful disease. Reviewing the mechanisms of ICC indicates that similarities can be drawn between ICC and HCC, which may improve the prospects of this disease in a clinical setting. Particularly, the tumorigenesis models proposed for ICC development are remarkably similar to those for HCC. Furthermore, several histopathologic and gene expression profiling studies have shown PLC tumors that exhibit a combination of HCC and CCA traits, suggesting an overlap between these tumor types. A subtype of tumors showing combined characteristics of hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (CHC) have been reported and proposed to develop from the bi-potential liver stem cells [97]. Even more recently, a new subtype – cholangiocarcinoma-like HCC (CLHCC) -was discovered and characterized as HCC expressing CCA-like traits. The heterogeneity observed between all 4 tumor subtypes could be indicative of their cellular origins from different developmental stages and may also represent a novel way to approach targeted therapy in CCA and HCC [98]. from the link below.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3116244/

God bless.

Hi,
Very interesting article,This is the first time I hear about 2 different types of ICCA. Still reading and just in time for the medical conference for tomorrow.
Thanks and
God bless.