Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41629979›Full record

ArticleCancer cell international2026

Personalized chemotherapy guided by drug sensitivity of circulating tumor cells improves outcomes in advanced biliary tract cancer.

Huafei Li, Shuangqun Chen, Xiaoxia Kou, Yuan Tian, Cong Wu, Huiying Liu, Jinrong Qiu

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer cell international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Huafei Li *School of Lifesciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, 200444, Shanghai, China. lihuafei@shu.edu.cn.
Shuangqun Chen *School of Lifesciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, 200444, Shanghai, China.
Xiaoxia Kou *Department of Oncology Biotherapy, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 700 North Moyu Road, Shanghai, 201805, China.
Yuan TianSchool of Lifesciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, 200444, Shanghai, China.
Cong WuClinical Research Unit, the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Naval Medical University, 168 Changhai Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.
Huiying LiuDepartment of Oncology Biotherapy, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 700 North Moyu Road, Shanghai, 201805, China. liuhuiying945@163.com.
Jinrong QiuDepartment of Oncology Biotherapy, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 700 North Moyu Road, Shanghai, 201805, China. jrqiu@njmu.edu.cn.

Funding

National Key R&D Program of China 2023YFC2510000
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) is an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis, and chemotherapy's effectiveness is limited, especially after first-line therapy failure. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) offer a promising platform for in vitro drug-sensitivity testing to optimize subsequent-line chemotherapy, but the clinical efficacy and prognostic value remain underexplored. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed 85 advanced BTC patients, with 25 receiving CTC-based drug-sensitivity-guided chemotherapy (CSBT), 15 receiving FOLFOX based chemotherapy, and 45 receiving empirical therapy. CTCs were enriched and tested for drug sensitivity using a glucose uptake assay. Therapeutic efficacy, including patient response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity profiles, was evaluated. The results indicated that the objective response rate (ORR) was 16% in CSBT, 6.7% in FOLFOX, and 4.4% in the empirical group. The disease control rate (DCR) was significantly higher in CSBT group (56%) compared to the FOLFOX (20%) and empirical therapy (22.2%; p < 0.05) groups. Median PFS (mPFS) was significantly prolonged in the CSBT group (5.4 months) versus the FOLFOX (1.9 months) and empirical therapy (2.7 months; p < 0.05) groups. Median OS (mOS) was extended in the CSBT group (12 months) compared with the FOLFOX (5.1 months) and EBT group (7.8 months), with a significant improvement during the first year of treatment (p < 0.05). Toxicity profiles were similar across all groups. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that CTC-based drug sensitivity testing offers a potential strategy to guide subsequent anti-cancer therapy for advanced BTC, providing a safe and effective approach to improving patient prognosis.

Indexed as

Anti-cancer drug sensitivity testingBiliary tract cancerCirculating tumor cellsIn vitro drug screening

Identifiers

PMID41629979
PMCPMC12954914

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.