Table 4.
Assessable patients | Tumor | ErbB status | ErbB inhibitor | Target | Administration | Response | Ref. |
40 | Unresected or metastatic biliary tract cancers (gallbladder, intra- and extrahepatic bile duct) | 29/36 (81%) assessable tumor samples positive for EGFR expression | Erlotinib | EGFR | Single agent | PR-3 patients; SD-17 patients; median time to disease-progression of 2.6 mo | [185] |
1 | Metastatic cholangiocarcinoma | Negative EGFR expression in tumor | Cetuximab | EGFR | In combination with 5'flurouracil, folic acid, and radiotherapy | PR in intra-chemotherapeutic state | [186] |
1 | Unresected cholangiocarcinoma with peritoneal carcinomatosis | Positive EGFR expression in tumor | Cetuximab | EGFR | In combination with gemcitabine | PR with 30% reduction in hepatic mass and disappearance of peritoneal carcinomatosis as shown by computed tomography | [187] |
9 | Unresected cholangiocarcinoma with disease progression after at least 3 cycles of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin | 9/9 (100%) tumor samples positive for EGFR expression, with all being negative for membranous ErbB2 | Cetuximab | EGFR | In combination with gemcitabine-oxaliplatin | After 6 mo, CR-1 patient; PR-1 patient; SD-1 patient; progressive disease-6 patients; all patients relapsed, with a median time to disease progression of 4 mo | [188] |
17 | Unresected advanced biliary tract cancers (gallbladder, bile duct) | Not reported | Lapatinib | EGFR/ErbB2 | Single agent | No observed responses; 5 patients with SD; cohort closed due to no noted lapatinib activity | [189] |
6 with biliary tract cancers out of a total of 34 with various types of solid tumors | Advanced cholangiocarcinoma (5) or gallbladder cancer (1) | Not investigated | Lapatinib | EGFR/ErbB2 | In combination with oxaliplatin/5-flurouracil/leucovorin | PR-1 patient with cholangiocarcinoma and 1 patient with gallbladder cancer | [190] |
CR: Complete response; PR: Partial response; SD: Stable disease.