a Tumour growth curve shows that combination therapy with nintedanib plus gemcitabine suppresses the growth of tumours consisting of HuCCT1 plus CAFs to the greatest extent. Photograph of tumours from the four treatment groups (control, nintedanib, gemcitabine and nintedanib + gemcitabine). GEM, gemcitabine (n = 6). *P < 0.05. b Representative photomicrographs of histological examinations comparing the four treatment groups (control, nintedanib, gemcitabine and nintedanib + gemcitabine) (HE, α-SMA and Ki-67, original magnification ×200, scale bar 100 µm). Nintedanib treatment significantly reduced α-SMA-positive staining in stroma. Gemcitabine treatment significantly reduced the proportion of Ki-67-positive cells. Nintedanib plus gemcitabine treatment showed a reduction of both α-SMA-positive staining in stroma and the proportion of Ki-67-positive ICC cells. GEM, gemcitabine (n = 5). *P < 0.05.