Dr. Marshall on Utilizing Precision Medicine in Bile Duct Cancer

John L. Marshall, MD, chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, professor, Medicine and Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Director, Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer, discusses potential next steps with research in bile duct cancer.

After applying precision medicine to cholangiocarcinoma and bile duct cancers, the next step will be to establish subcategories based on anatomy and molecular profile, Marshall says. Further areas of activity have been observed with various of combinations and different lines of therapy in these subcategories, Marshall explains.

Additionally, liver-directed therapy approaches have become more common, with assistance from interventional radiologists and surgeons, due to the tendency for these patients to develop liver-dominant problems, Marshall says.

It is important to expand the utilization of immunotherapy through combinations and other molecular characterizations to better understand which patients are the best candidates for immune therapy in bile duct cancer, Marshall concludes.