Axcan Pharma Inc announced that it will support Phase II studies on the use of Photofrin photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma, a malignant (cancerous) growth in the ducts that carries bile from the liver to the small intestine.

"Preclinical studies on human cholangiocarcinoma cell line models, as well as small clinical pilot studies, have indicated that Photofrin PDT can induce significant tumor reduction and growth rate delay, commented Dr. Patrick Colin, Vice President, Clinical Research of the Company. "These encouraging findings led to a more rigorous research program on the use of PDT Photofrin in the palliative treatment of advanced cholangiocarcinomas. Although the use of Photofrin for cholangiocarcinoma is a relatively limited market, providing patients with symptom relief and extending their survival is very important. It once more demonstrates that Photofrin PDT can be used successfully to treat various cancers related to the gastrointestinal tract," he concluded.

Cholangiocarcinoma affect approximately 2,500 persons each year in the United States. Average incidence is 1 case per 100,000 persons. The majority of patients with this condition are not suitable for curative surgical resection either due to the presence of extensive local or metastatic disease or because patients are old and frail with high operative and post-operative mortality and morbidity. However, despite aggressive anticancer therapy and interventional supportive care, median survival rate is low since most patients (90%) are not eligible for curative resection. The worst prognosis is amongst patients with the so-called Bismuth type III (tumours occluding the common hepatic duct and either the right or the left hepatic duct) and IV (tumours that are multi-centric or that involve the confluence and both right and left hepatic ducts) tumours. In these patients, endoscopic insertion of stents is the method of choice to relieve obstructive jaundice, which is a distressing problem in subjects with cholangiocarcinoma.