dboucher

I happen to work in the medical sector in Europe. Looking at several messages about the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma over here I thought that it might be of interest to let you know about the local situation. When diagnosed with a Type III or IV non resectable cholangiocarcinoma, you might be able to get a new treatment which is now currently available in more than 100 European hospitals. The name of the treatment : photodynamic therapy. This treatment is usually done after stent placement (the stent can be metallic but preferably plastic) and after improvement of bilirubin level, the PDT procedure can eventually take place. A photosensitizer (a light sensitive drug) will be injected and 48h after injection, using a laser light source and a special light diffuser, during an ERCP procedure (or transhepatic), light illumination of tumour will take place during several minutes. The major benefits of this treatment are recognized as promising and are typically a survival advantage and an important improvement of quality of life. This treatment can take place again when plastic stent replacement will be necessary and patients have often received PDT treatment three or four times. As patient survival is the most definitive measure of the benefit of photodynamic therapy for Type III & IV cholangiocarcinoma, photodynamic therapy seems to be a very promising solution. A multicenter randomized study is actually taking place in Great-Britain but Germany has stopped the same study for ethical reasons thinking that not offering the treatment to patients was non ethical. This treatment is also available in France, Switzerland, Danemark, Greece.