The Lancet Regional Health-Europe publishes the paper on ‘World CholangiocarcinomaDay’ which also reveals inequalities across countries in Europe in the diagnosis and innovative treatment of this type of tumor.
Rocío I.R. Macías (USAL-IBSAL) presented the results at the EASL Liver Cancer Summit together with co-authors Lorenza Rimassa (Humanitas University/IRCCS Humanitas University Hospital, Milan) and Chiara Braconi (University of Glasgow).
Rocío I.R. Macías, professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Salamanca and researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL) and the National Center for Biomedical Research Network for the Study of Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD), is one of the co-authors of the new European study that highlights the existing inequalities in the diagnosis and treatment of biliary tract cancer, as well as an increase in the incidence and mortality of this type of tumors.
The international initiative was developed within the framework of the COST project “Precision medicine in biliary tract cancer (Precision-BTC-Network)” -led by the USAL and launched in 2023 to promote precision medicine in patients with biliary cancer- and its implementation has made it possible to analyze the situation of biliary tract cancer in Europe.
Together with Macías, a member of the “Experimental Hepatology and Drug Vectorization” research group at USAL (HEVEPHARM/IBSAL/CIBEREHD), the research was coordinated by Lorenza Rimassa (Humanitas University/IRCCS Humanitas University Hospital of Milan) and Chiara Braconi (University of Glasgow), and has resulted in two important papers that have just been published today, February 20, in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, in the framework of the ‘World Cholangiocarcinoma Day’.
The results of the study, in which more than 40 European researchers have collaborated, have just been presented by the three responsible scientists on the first day of the EASL Liver Cancer Summit 2025, considered the main international event in liver cancer research and treatment, which is being held in Paris from February 20 to 22 and of which the USAL professor is part of the organizing committee.
In this sense, the data obtained reveal that “the incidence and mortality of these tumors has increased in a worrying way in the last two decades, especially in the case of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer,” the coordinators informed Comunicación USAL.
The disease is increasingly affecting people under 60 years of age, which represents a significant social and economic burden. However, “knowledge about these tumors remains low both among health professionals and authorities, and in society in general,” they stress.
Inequalities in access to care and treatment
Specifically, the papers analyze access to diagnostic tools and multidisciplinary care in different European countries, showing marked inequalities, especially in those with lower economic capacity. They also identify priority areas for improvement and highlight the differences in access to innovative treatments and molecular tests, “factors that directly affect patients’ therapeutic options”.
One of the main challenges identified is that, although the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves new treatments, their availability in each country varies significantly due to differences in the authorization and reimbursement processes. As a result, “the funding of new treatments is carried out with great inequalities across Europe, limiting the access of many patients to potentially more effective therapies”.
Moreover, the project also gives a voice to patients and patient representatives from various charities in Europe who urge the wider community “to act urgently to adopt effective treatments for biliary cancer patients,” they conclude.
Precision-BTC-Network Project
The University of Salamanca leads the project “Precision medicine in biliary tract cancer (Precision-BTC-Network)”, a COST action (International Program for European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) whose main objective is to coordinate a pan-European interdisciplinary effort to promote personalized approaches for patients with biliary cancer covering prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.
The project involves researchers from more than 45 countries, 35 of them European, and is supported by pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, international scientific associations, associations of patients with this type of cancer and the European Parliament. Rocío I.R. Macías, from the HEVEPHARM/IBSAL/CIBEREHD Group, was formally elected as president of the project, together with Chiara Braconi, from the University of Glasgow, as vice-president.
EASL Liver Cancer Summit 2025
The EASL Liver Cancer Summit 2025 is the leading event on liver cancer research and practice and is held, among others, with the aim of raising awareness and promoting strategies that reduce inequalities in the management and treatment of bile duct cancer in Europe.
Throughout the sessions, experts will address the most recent cutting-edge advances in primary liver cancer, particularly on new treatment strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma; immunotherapy and new systemic therapies; and the use of artificial intelligence for the improvement of diagnostic capabilities.
EASL (European Association for the Study of the Liver)
EASL, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, founded in 1966, is a medical association dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in liver research, to the clinical practice of liver disorders and to providing education to all those interested in hepatology. As of 2024, it has 6,800 members from 112 countries.
The association collaborates worldwide with all stakeholders in the field of hepatology with the aim of disseminating knowledge and expertise on best practices and the latest scientific advances in this field. It advocates for the benefit of patients and advises European and national health authorities.
HEVEPHARM, Group of Excellence of Castilla y León
The Laboratory of Experimental Hepatology and Drug Vectorization (HEVEPHARM) is a multidisciplinary team led by Professor José Juan García Marín of the University of Salamanca and is composed of members of the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Salamanca and the University Hospital of Salamanca.
The group is attached to the Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL) and belongs to the Centro Nacional de Investigación Biomédica en Red para el Estudio de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD) of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
Several of its members are members of the Spanish (AEEH) and European (EASL) Associations for the Study of the Liver, the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM), the Spanish (SECF), British (PS) and American (APS) Societies of Physiology, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).
During the last 15 years the research group, recognized as a Group of Excellence of Castilla y León, has been dedicated to the study of issues related to the biochemistry, physiology, physiopathology and pharmacology of the liver.
__________________________________________________________________________________
More information: Rocio I.R. Macías Professor of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the University of Salamanca. Member of the HEVEPHARM/IBSAL/CIBEREHD Group. E-mail: rociorm@usal.es
