{"title":"Patient Characteristics and Treatment Patterns of Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer (BTC): A Chinese Physician Survey.","authors":"Hui Qiu, Qiao Liu, Zhen Wang, Wenting Chen, Wenmin Tang, Chunyi Hao","doi":"10.1007/s12325-026-03732-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) encompass rare malignancies arising from bile duct and gallbladder epithelial cells. This study investigated Chinese physicians' understanding of advanced BTC including patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and decision-making factors in clinical practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A survey of 120 randomly selected physicians who currently treat patients with advanced BTC was conducted between September 19, 2024 and November 4, 2024.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 120 total respondents, 48 were surgeons, 48 were oncologists, and 24 were interventionalists or radiotherapists. The respondents indicated that over half of patients (58.2%) are initially deemed to have unresectable tumors. Physicians estimated that 77.3% of patients with advanced BTC receive first-line therapy, most commonly with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy (34.2%), chemotherapy alone (15.8%), or local-regional combination therapies (10.8%). The most commonly used immunotherapy plus chemotherapy regimen is gemcitabine and cisplatin plus immunotherapy followed by gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin plus immunotherapy. Following progression on first-line therapy, physicians indicated 43.8% of patients proceed to subsequent treatment, most commonly with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy (23.3%), chemotherapy (12.5%), or immunotherapy plus anti-angiogenic agent (11.7%). The average physician satisfaction scores for current treatment and management of advanced BTC were between 6.1 and 7.5 out of 10. The key challenges indicated by respondents in treating patients with advanced BTC were limited selection of treatment regimens (46.7%) and financial barriers to care (40.0%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This is the first study to report Chinese physicians' understanding of patient characteristics and treatment patterns for advanced BTC, providing valuable insights which will inform advanced BTC treatment in China.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Chinese Clinical Trial Registry identifier, ChiCTR2400087092.</p>","PeriodicalId":7482,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Therapy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Advances in Therapy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-026-03732-y","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) encompass rare malignancies arising from bile duct and gallbladder epithelial cells. This study investigated Chinese physicians' understanding of advanced BTC including patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and decision-making factors in clinical practice.
Methods: A survey of 120 randomly selected physicians who currently treat patients with advanced BTC was conducted between September 19, 2024 and November 4, 2024.
Results: Of the 120 total respondents, 48 were surgeons, 48 were oncologists, and 24 were interventionalists or radiotherapists. The respondents indicated that over half of patients (58.2%) are initially deemed to have unresectable tumors. Physicians estimated that 77.3% of patients with advanced BTC receive first-line therapy, most commonly with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy (34.2%), chemotherapy alone (15.8%), or local-regional combination therapies (10.8%). The most commonly used immunotherapy plus chemotherapy regimen is gemcitabine and cisplatin plus immunotherapy followed by gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin plus immunotherapy. Following progression on first-line therapy, physicians indicated 43.8% of patients proceed to subsequent treatment, most commonly with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy (23.3%), chemotherapy (12.5%), or immunotherapy plus anti-angiogenic agent (11.7%). The average physician satisfaction scores for current treatment and management of advanced BTC were between 6.1 and 7.5 out of 10. The key challenges indicated by respondents in treating patients with advanced BTC were limited selection of treatment regimens (46.7%) and financial barriers to care (40.0%).
Conclusion: This is the first study to report Chinese physicians' understanding of patient characteristics and treatment patterns for advanced BTC, providing valuable insights which will inform advanced BTC treatment in China.
Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry identifier, ChiCTR2400087092.
期刊介绍：
Advances in Therapy is an international, peer reviewed, rapid-publication (peer review in 2 weeks, published 3–4 weeks from acceptance) journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality clinical (all phases), observational, real-world, and health outcomes research around the discovery, development, and use of therapeutics and interventions (including devices) across all therapeutic areas. Studies relating to diagnostics and diagnosis, pharmacoeconomics, public health, epidemiology, quality of life, and patient care, management, and education are also encouraged.
The journal is of interest to a broad audience of healthcare professionals and publishes original research, reviews, communications and letters. The journal is read by a global audience and receives submissions from all over the world. Advances in Therapy will consider all scientifically sound research be it positive, confirmatory or negative data. Submissions are welcomed whether they relate to an international and/or a country-specific audience, something that is crucially important when researchers are trying to target more specific patient populations. This inclusive approach allows the journal to assist in the dissemination of all scientifically and ethically sound research.
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