A population based analysis of prognostic factors in advanced biliary tract cancer

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are rare carcinomas that arise from the epithelial lining of the gallbladder and bile ducts. BTCs affect approximately 12,000 people in the U.S. annually (1). Complete surgical resection offers the only possibility for cure (a2, a3, a4). Among the minority of patients who undergo curative-intent resection, recurrence rates are high (2-4). Therefore, for the majority of BTC patients, systemic chemotherapy is the mainstay of their treatment plan