Bile Duct Cancer Clinical Trial

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Bile duct cancer is a difficult form of cancer with an extremely high mortality rate. Being diagnosed too late makes the prospect of therapeutic treatment all the more challenging. For some patients, however, clinical studies can provide a solution to their problem. The bile duct cancer clinical trials seeks to find new treatments for patients, investigate existing treatments and minimize side effects in patients undergoing therapy. In this article, we will discuss the uses of clinical trials for patients with cancer of the bile duct.

The pancreas, liver and the colon are the common sites for malignant tumors of the small intestine. When the ducts become abnormal, malignancies then grow through the ducts into the small intestine. Bile duct cancers develop in these ducts because of inappropriate surgery or due to abnormal growth of the tissue. Small intestine malignancies grow large in size after surgery and can reach sizes of several inches. The common treatment of this type of cancer is surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. New research has focused on the use of certain antigens in combination with therapy of the immune system to treat malignancies of the bile ducts.

Clinical studies have been conducted to test the use of immunotherapy for treating ovarian cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer. The study examined the ability of antigens ( vaccines ) to prevent cancer cells from growing in the presence of the immune system's white blood cells (leukocytes). The investigators found that when they injected immune cells derived from a goat's milk formula into theatum (the lining of the abdomen) of healthy animals, the cancer cells rapidly grew in the presence of leukocytes. The cholangiocarcinoma clinical trials researchers concluded that the vaccines caused a change in the pattern of cell division triggered by the innate immune system and thus were capable of preventing the cancer cells from developing into malignancies. Testing of these vaccines in humans is currently underway.

Another group of tests being evaluated are those examining the ability of the bile duct flaps to be immunized with diphtheria antigens. Diphtheria is a disease caused by a deficiency of a specific bacterium that is required for normal function of the small bowel. This disease occurs when people fail to produce adequate quantities of the bacterium in their small bowel. The investigators intend to test the effect of immunization with diphtheria antigens on the ability of the immune cells to recognize cancer cells in the bile duct (small intestine).

Patients with lymphomas, both single and tumors, may be eligible for enrollment in one of two clinical trial programs involving local control and staging of disease. In the first stage, patients will be administered an initial series of low-dose intravenous immune globulins and interferon. The local control of disease process involves monitoring the growth of tumor cells and checking for evidence of cancer progression. In the second stage, treatments will be administered against malignant cells and other abnormalities in the duct membrane. Treatment options may include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

In the third stage, treatment will switch to radiation therapy or chemotherapy. A single infusion of interferon will be administered at the beginning of the study in order to provide initial systemic support. Patients will also receive a series of high-dose treatments either within a few days or up to a year and a half. Cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes, abdominal organs or other parts of the body by the time that the third stage of the study is reached. If cancer has spread to these areas, surgery might be indicated as a final course of treatment.

Check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholangiocarcinoma for a more and better understanding of this topic.