Group: Deep Organ Tumours
Cholangiocarcinoma
Treatment options in biliary tract tumours are limited and preserving the bile duct is critical. Electroporation-based approaches are being investigated in both percutaneous and endoluminal forms of delivery.
25publication records
13clinical publication records
6preclinical publication records
4reviews
2012–2026publication span
Clinical publications: randomized, prospective and retrospective studies, case series and case reports. Preclinical publications: animal, in vitro, modelling and experimental biophysics studies.
Clinical and Technical Data Reported in the Publications
The sum of the fields reported in the full text of the 25 publications in this area. The numbers are summed, not interpreted.
Sum of the patient counts reported across publications273 (reported in 15 publications)
Total lesions reported84 (in 6 publications)
Devices used (19 publications naming a device)NanoKnife (14) · Cliniporator VITAE (4) · Cliniporator (1)
Agent delivered and route (6 publications reporting an agent)bleomycin · intravenous (4) · bleomycin (1) · cisplatin (1)
Approach (22 publications report it)percutaneous (15) · open surgical (4) · intraoperative (1) · laparoscopic (1) · endoscopic (1)
Image guidance (21 publications report it)ultrasound (14) · computed tomography (10) · PET-CT (1) · endoscopy (1) · fluoroscopy (1)
Response criteria (14 publications report it)clinical examination (4) · other (3) · RECIST 1.1 (3) · mRECIST (2) · RECIST (2)
Combination therapy (10 publications report it)systemic chemotherapy (8) · radiotherapy (3) · other combination (2) · surgery (2) · targeted therapy (1)
Publications reporting retreatment1 of 12 publications (13 do not report it)
Field strength1000–1510 V/cm (12 records, median 1500)
Applied voltage2000–3000 V (5 records, median 2500)
Number of pulses8–100 (14 records, median 90)
Pulse duration70–100000 µs (13 records, median 100)
The totals are not a count of unique patients: the same cohort may have been reported in more than one publication.
Literature Status by Method
Publication count, clinical and preclinical split, literature volume and publication span for each clinical method. The badges at the top of the page summarise the IRE and ECT records separately; the full split by method is here.
Electrochemotherapy (ECT)
4publication records
3clinical publication records
1preclinical publication record
Exploratory / low-volume literaturethreshold 0/4 records
No record for this method feeds the volume label.
2018–2020
Irreversible electroporation (IRE)
17publication records
10clinical publication records
3preclinical publication records
Limited clinical publication volumethreshold 7/17 records
Clinical and preclinical split of that figure: 5 clinical, 0 preclinical.
2012–2026
Other electroporation applications
4publication records
0clinical publication records
2preclinical publication records
This set does not name a single clinical method; no literature volume is assigned.
2020–2026
Mechanisms Mentioned in Abstracts
The figure is the number of abstracts mentioning the mechanism. A mention does not mean it was demonstrated in that study.
Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation 19
Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death 19
Necrosis and Necroptosis 5
Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation 2
Electrode Geometry and Placement 2
Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation 1
Systemic / Abscopal Immune Response 1
Muscle Contraction and Anaesthesia Requirement 1
Antivascular Effect and Vessel Disruption 1
Thermal Effect and Joule Heating 1
Preservation of Extracellular Matrix and Tissue Scaffold 1
Apoptosis Induction 1
Study Type Distribution
The percentage gives the share of the whole area.
| Study type | Publications | Share within this area |
|---|---|---|
| Prospective Clinical Study | 2 | 8% |
| Clinical Study | 3 | 12% |
| Retrospective Clinical Study | 2 | 8% |
| Case Series | 1 | 4% |
| Case Report | 5 | 20% |
| Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | 2 | 8% |
| Review | 2 | 8% |
| Animal Study | 5 | 20% |
| In Silico / Modelling | 1 | 4% |
| Protocol | 2 | 8% |
Publication Table
25 publication records sorted by study design. Click a title to open the citation, mechanism and full abstract drawer.
Classifications are generated automatically and can be wrong for individual records. Methodology
| Regime | Publication | Year | Study type | Model | Mechanism | Patients / lesions | Device | Agent and route | Reported outcome | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | Belfiore et al · Med Oncol | 2020 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 15 / 15 | NanoKnife | – | complete response 1 count (15 patients) | Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) accounts for about 3% of the gastrointestinal and 10-25% of all hepatobiliary malignancies. It arises from the epithelium of the bile duct and it can be classified in… |
| ECT | Tarantino et al · Eur J Surg Oncol | 2018 | Prospective Clinical Study | Human | – | – | Cliniporator VITAE | bleomycin · intravenous | – | Aim: We evaluated feasibility, safety and efficacy of Electrochemotherapy (ECT) in a prospective series of patients with unresectable Perihilar-Cholangiocarcinoma (PHCCA). Patients and metho… |
| IRE | Franken et al · J Vasc Interv Radiol | 2022 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 12 | NanoKnife | – | overall survival 21 months (12 patients) | Purpose: To investigate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous or open irreversible electroporation (IRE) in a prospective cohort of patients with locally advanced, unresectable perihilar c… |
| IRE | Hsiao et al · Sci Rep | 2020 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 9 | NanoKnife | – | complete response 8 count (9 patients) | Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablation modality that has been shown to be safe and effective in its application to tumors that are close to risky areas. This study aims… |
| IRE | Martin et al · HPB (Oxford) | 2018 | Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 26 | NanoKnife | – | – | Background: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) has successfully been used for palliation of pancreatic and liver cancers due to its ability to ablate tumors without destroying nearby vital s… |
| IRE | Thamtorawat et al · Int J Hyperthermia | 2022 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 42 / 44 | NanoKnife | – | complete response 100% (13 patients) | Objective: To evaluate the biliary complication rates and efficacy of peribiliary tumor ablation using irreversible electroporation (IRE) or radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Material and metho… |
| IRE | Silk et al · J Vasc Interv Radiol | 2014 | Retrospective Clinical Study | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 11 / 22 | NanoKnife | – | – | Purpose: To assess biliary complications after irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation of hepatic tumors located < 1 cm from major bile ducts. Materials and methods: A retrospective revi… |
| IRE | Brichard et al · Front Surg | 2026 | Case Series | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 3 | NanoKnife | – | overall survival 100% (3 patients) | Introduction: The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is increasing worldwide and remains associated with a poor prognosis. Surgical resection is the only potentially curativ… |
| ECT | Tarantino et al · Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci | 2020 | Case Report | Human | Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation | 1 | Cliniporator VITAE | bleomycin · intravenous | – | Objective: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common primary hepatic malignancy after hepatocellular carcinoma. The current standard palliative treatment, chemotherapy regimen with … |
| ECT | Tarantino et al · Digestive and Liver Disease | 2019 | Case Report | Human | Increased Intracellular Cisplatin Accumulation | 1 / 1 | Cliniporator VITAE | bleomycin · intravenous | overall survival 9 months (1 patients) | – OBJECTIVE: Cholangiocarcino- ma (CCA) is the second most common primary hepatic malignancy after hepatocellular carcinoma. The current standard palliative treatment, chemotherapy regimen w… |
| IRE | DeOliveira et al · HPB | 2016 | Case Report | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 20 | – | – | – | ABLATION MODALITY M. L. DeOliveira, M. Glenck, H. Petrowski, T. Pfammatter, L. Castrezana and P. A. Clavien University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland Aims: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) i… |
| IRE | Melenhorst et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2015 | Case Report | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 1 / 1 | NanoKnife | – | – | Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel image-guided ablation technique that is rapidly gaining popularity in the treatment of malignant tumors located near large vessels or bile ducts… |
| IRE | Kasivisvanathan et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2012 | Case Report | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | 1 / 1 | NanoKnife | – | tumour volume change -2.09 cm³ (1 lesions) | Patients with chemotherapy-refractory liver metastases who are not candidates for surgery may be treated with focal ablation techniques with established survival benefits. Irreversible elect… |
| Other EP | Pallas · Liver Int | 2026 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 81 | – | – | – | Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common primary liver cancer and is being diagnosed with increasing frequency worldwide. We performed a systematic review on radiofrequency (RFA), … |
| IRE | Scrofani et al · Br J Radiol | 2024 | Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | – | – | – | overall survival 25.49 months (93 patients) | Objectives The prognosis of patients with perihilar-cholangiocarcinoma (PHC) is poor, with the majority presenting with unresectable disease at diagnosis. Palliative chemotherapy (CHT) is th… |
| Other EP | Charalampopoulos et al · Medicina (Kaunas) | 2023 | Review | Human | Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation, Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death | – | – | bleomycin | – | Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an invasive cancer accounting for <1% of all cancers and 10-15% of primary liver cancers. Intrahepatic CCA (iCCA) is associated with poor survival rates and high … |
| IRE | Papamichail et al · J BUON | 2017 | Review | Literature Analysis | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | – | – | – | – | Purpose: We aimed to provide an overview of current understanding on the potential use of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in the field of hepatobiliary surgery with a focus on current res… |
| Other EP | Izzo et al · Cancers (Basel) | 2020 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Necrosis and Necroptosis, Electrode Geometry and Placement | – | Cliniporator VITAE | cisplatin | – | The aim of the study is to evaluate the usability aspects of new deployable, expandable, electrode prototypes, in terms of suitability solutions for laparoscopic applications on the liver, e… |
| ECT | Zmuc et al · Sci Rep | 2019 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Increased Intracellular Bleomycin Accumulation | – | Cliniporator | bleomycin · intravenous | – | The first clinical studies on the use of electrochemotherapy to treat liver tumours that were not amenable to surgery or thermal ablation techniques have recently been published. However, th… |
| IRE | Ueshima et al · Gastrointest Endosc | 2018 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | – | NanoKnife | – | – | Background and aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and early safety of catheter-directed irreversible electroporation (IRE) of the normal common bile duct (CBD) in sw… |
| IRE | Zeng et al · Radiol Oncol | 2016 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Necrosis and Necroptosis | – | NanoKnife | – | complete response 12 count (12 animals) | Background: The ablation of liver tumors located close to the gallbladder is likely to lead to complications. The aim of this article is to compare the safety and efficacy of irreversible el… |
| IRE | Chen et al · Sci Rep | 2015 | Animal Study | Animal (In Vivo) | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | – | NanoKnife | – | – | Irreversible electroporation (IRE) with microsecond-pulsed electric fields (μsPEFs) can effectively ablate hepatocellular carcinomas in animal models. This preclinical study evaluates the fe… |
| Other EP | Binen et al · 2026 8th International Congress on Human-Computer Interaction, Optimization and Robotic Applications (ICHORA) | 2026 | In Silico / Modelling | Cell Culture | Electric Field Distribution and Modelling | – | – | – | – | The use of electroporation in various medical treatments is becoming popular. In oncology applications, electroporation-based treatment is an effective method for cancer treatment and tumor … |
| IRE | Kalra et al · Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol | 2024 | Protocol | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 30 | NanoKnife | – · intravenous | – | Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of chemotherapy combined with irreversible electroporation (IRE) in patients with locally advanced gallbladder carcinoma (GB… |
| IRE | Coelen et al · BMJ Open | 2017 | Protocol | Human | Irreversible Pore Formation and Cell Death, Reversible Membrane Permeabilisation | 20 | NanoKnife | – | – | Introduction: The majority of patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHC) has locally advanced disease or distant lymph node metastases on presentation or exploratory laparotomy, which … |
No publication matches these filters.
Limitations
Publication volume is not clinical efficacy or evidence quality. It describes how much literature exists in the area and of what kind; it does not indicate how strongly the treatment is supported, guideline endorsement or regulatory status.
Patient totals are not a count of unique patients. The same cohort may have been reported in more than one publication; the totals are not a meta-analysis.
How the corpus was assembled, the tier thresholds, the definition of a clinical publication and why methods are counted separately: Literature Map.