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Your Specialist Report — Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer inside the liver)

Prepared for: L.K. (sample patient, woman, age 58, not yet treated) · Location: Phoenix, Arizona · Insurance: PPO · Report date: November 1, 2026

1. What this condition is

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer that starts in the small bile ducts inside the liver. (Bile is the digestive fluid the liver makes.) It is rare: most general cancer doctors see only a few cases a year. Care is run by a team: a medical oncologist (cancer medicine doctor), a liver surgeon, and often an interventional radiologist and a radiation oncologist. They usually meet as a "tumor board" to look at the scans together. The first big question is whether surgery can remove the tumor. The second is what the tumor's genes show: some bile duct cancers carry changes, such as FGFR2 or IDH1, that open the door to specific medicines or clinical trials. Your doctors will decide what applies to you; this report helps you prepare for those conversations.

Cancer centers in Arizona: Arizona has two National Cancer Institute "Comprehensive Cancer Centers" (NCI's highest rating): Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Phoenix and the University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson (NCI list, updated June 10, 2026). Every doctor below practices in the Phoenix area.

2. Specialists to consider

We checked each doctor on their own hospital's website on November 1, 2026, and looked for proof they are still there now (2026 research papers listing that hospital, a clinical trial record updated in 2026, or a page updated in the last weeks). We list a medical oncologist and two liver surgeons at two different hospital systems, so you have a choice if one is not in your insurance network.

1. Mitesh J. Borad, MD — Medical Oncologist, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center

2. Dominic E. Sanford, MD, MBA, MPHS — Liver, Pancreas and Bile Duct (HPB) Surgeon, Mayo Clinic

3. Gagandeep Singh, MD, FACS — Chief of Surgical Oncology, Liver and Pancreatic Surgeon, City of Hope Phoenix

Closer to home (Arizona)

Also verified on their hospitals' own pages on November 1, 2026, if you want another name at the same place:

Leads we checked and did not list

3. Next steps

Your first call — three questions
No hospital page we read answers these, so ask them on every call:
1. Is Dr. [name] seeing new patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma?
2. What is the current wait for a first visit? Neither Mayo nor City of Hope publishes wait times.
3. Is a referral needed? Mayo's appointment FAQ says Mayo "doesn't generally require a doctor's referral, however your insurance might." City of Hope's pages do not say. Ask your PPO as well.

How to reach each specialist (from each institution's own page):

If it is unclear whether surgery is possible — a review outside Arizona. Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in New York has a dedicated liver, pancreas and bile duct surgery service, and runs the U.S. randomized trial of the liver pump mentioned in Section 8. The MSK page of the service's chief, William R. Jarnagin, MD, says its seven surgeons do about 1,000 liver, pancreas and bile duct operations a year, 350–400 of them liver resections (self-reported, not audited, not comparable between hospitals). An MSK article on its website (dated December 18, 2025) says patients elsewhere in the U.S. may, depending on where they live, get a remote opinion by video visit. To request: call 800-525-2225 (24 hours a day) or use the online form (MSK says it calls back within one business day; its Care Advisors gather your records and test results). Questions to ask: is a video visit possible for an Arizona resident, can the team review your actual scan images and biopsy slides, and what does your PPO pay? MD Anderson in Houston says on its website that it does not offer remote reviews at this time; visits there are in person (1-866-943-1363).

Your 3 steps this week:

  1. Ask the office of the doctor who found the cancer to send you: the pathology report from the biopsy, the CT and/or MRI reports AND the image files (disc or secure link), any blood test results including CA 19-9, and the molecular (genomic) test report — or a written note that it was never ordered. Ask whether there is leftover biopsy tissue and where it is stored.
  2. Call Mayo (480-301-8484) and City of Hope (877-524-4673). At each, ask the three questions in the box above, plus: can you review my scans and pathology before the visit, will my case go to a tumor board, and can I be screened for clinical trials before any treatment starts?
  3. Call your PPO (number on the back of your card): are Mayo Clinic Arizona and City of Hope Phoenix in network for you, what does a specialist visit cost, does a visit or genomic testing need prior authorization, and how are clinical trial costs covered? (Federal rules generally require plans to cover routine care during an approved trial; ask what your plan says.)

4. Clinical trials near you

A question for your oncologist before your first infusion: "Starting any treatment can make me ineligible for some first-line trials. Can we look at trials before my first infusion?"

We searched ClinicalTrials.gov (the U.S. government registry) on November 1, 2026 for studies marked Recruiting that include bile duct cancer in Arizona (and within 150 miles of Phoenix). We set aside studies that are not for bile duct cancer, not yet open in Arizona, or that only collect data. Below are three that fit someone who has not started treatment (two in Arizona, plus one in Houston for the case where surgery is possible), then two later-line options in Arizona that are worth knowing about. Being "recruiting" does not mean you qualify. The study team decides that.

The question that unlocks most of these trials: has the tumor been tested for gene changes? Ask your doctor whether the biopsy sample has been sent for comprehensive molecular (genomic) testing — tests that look for changes such as FGFR2, IDH1, HER2, MTAP, and others, and whether PD-L1 will be measured. Ask also whether enough tissue was saved, because some trials need their own sample. Results can take weeks, so it is worth asking at the first visit. Three of the five trials below depend directly on these results.

For someone not yet treated

1. AB02 (ARTEMIDE-Biliary02) — NCT07221253 · Phase 3 · last updated September 28, 2026

2. DESTINY-BTC01 — NCT06467357 · Phase 3 · last updated October 13, 2026

3. Pembrolizumab with chemotherapy before and after surgery — NCT05967182 · Phase 2, small (24 people) · last updated October 7, 2026

Later-line options to know about

4. IDE892 study — NCT07277413 · Phase 1 (early, first-in-people dosing) · last updated September 28, 2026

5. D07001 + capecitabine study — NCT06622057 · Phase 3 · last updated July 30, 2026

5. Stories from families who have been there

These are real people's own words. They are not a prediction of your course.

  1. Patient post on Mayo Clinic's patient forum (Mayo Clinic Connect), Phoenix — Andrea, 48, wrote in October 2019 that she had lived with advanced bile duct cancer that surgery could not remove for 3½ years, and that an FGFR2-targeted drug trial at Mayo Phoenix had kept it "relatively stable" for almost 2½ years with manageable side effects. She says connecting with other patients through the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation was a crucial part of coping, and offers Arizona patients a volunteer mentor. Tone: hopeful. We do not know how she is doing since 2019. (The forum is hosted by Mayo.) Read the thread
  2. Family journal on CaringBridge — Glenn Hammonds was told he had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in January 2019. He had 75% of his liver removed, radiation for spread to the bone, two chemotherapy plans, and then, after genetic testing found an FGFR2 change, an FGFR-targeted drug trial that controlled the cancer for more than 336 days before it found a way around the drug. He was preparing for a second trial when he became too weak; his wife wrote that he died at home in May 2021, shortly after his 70th birthday: "He tried everything to get to the next clinical trial, but everything was not enough." Tone: honest, loving, hard outcome. Glenn's CaringBridge

What these two have in common: each family says that gene testing, a team that sees many of these cancers, and access to trials changed their options — and each also shows that this cancer often comes back and needs a long-term plan.

6. Ready-to-send messages

Email to the specialist's office (copy, fill the brackets, send):

Subject: New patient request — intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma — records review
Hello, I am writing about myself. I am 58, I live in Phoenix, and I was recently told I have intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. I have not started treatment.
Dr. [Borad / Sanford / Singh]'s experience with bile duct cancer is why I am contacting your program. Could you tell me:
(1) whether Dr. [name] is seeing new patients with this condition, (2) the current wait for a first visit,
(3) whether a referral is needed, and (4) how to send my pathology, scan images and any genomic test results for review before the visit?
I would also like to know whether my case can be reviewed by your tumor board, and whether you would screen me for clinical trials.
My insurance is [PPO name, member ID]. Thank you, [name, phone]

Email to a trial contact (for the trials in Section 4):

Subject: Question about [NCT number] — patient in Phoenix
Hello, I am a 58-year-old woman in Phoenix with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, not yet treated. Could you tell me which Arizona clinic is enrolling for [NCT number], who the study doctor is, and what tests I would need for screening? My genomic results are [attached / pending / not done]. Thank you, [name, phone]

Phone script (what to say in the first 30 seconds): "Hi, I'm calling to request a new patient appointment with Dr. [name] for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma — bile duct cancer inside the liver. I haven't started treatment. Is Dr. [name] currently seeing new patients with this cancer? What's the wait? Do you need a referral, and how do I send my scans and biopsy report ahead of time?" Write down: the person's name, the date, the answer, the next step.

7. One-page summary to bring to the appointment

(Print this page and fill it in by hand.)

Name: ____________ Date of birth: ________ Phone: ____________ Condition: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer inside the liver). Not yet treated. When and how it was found: ______________________________________ Biopsy: date ______ where ____________ result ____________ Latest scans: CT / MRI / PET — date ______ — what the report says: tumor size ______ number of spots ______ outside the liver? yes / no / not sure Blood tests: CA 19-9 ______ bilirubin ______ (date ______) Genomic (molecular) testing: ordered? yes / no — results: FGFR2 ____ IDH1 ____ HER2 ____ MTAP ____ PD-L1 ____ MSI ____ other ____ Other health conditions: __________________ (e.g., liver disease, hepatitis, diabetes) Current medicines and allergies: ______________________________________ My 3 most important questions today:

  1. ______________________________________
  2. ______________________________________
  3. ______________________________________

What I want from this visit: (e.g., "a clear answer on surgery," "a plan with dates," "a list of trials I qualify for") ________________

8. Questions to ask the specialist

  1. How many patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma do you personally treat each year? And your team?
  2. What results do you see for patients like me — my age, my tumor size, and whether it has spread?
  3. How long is the wait for a first visit, and can you review my scans and pathology before I come in?
  4. Has my tumor had comprehensive genomic testing (FGFR2, IDH1, HER2, MTAP and others) and PD-L1 testing? If not, can it be ordered now, and is there enough tissue? How would the results change my options or my trial choices?
  5. Can surgery remove my tumor now? If not, is there a chance it could become removable later, and who decides that?
  6. Will my case be reviewed at a tumor board with a liver surgeon, medical oncologist, interventional radiologist and radiation oncologist?
  7. Which of the trials in this report (or others you know of) might fit me, and do I need to decide before starting any treatment? Some first-line trials only accept people who have had no treatment yet.
  8. Are treatments aimed at the liver (such as a hepatic artery infusion pump or radiation beads) something your team uses for this cancer? Is that something to consider for me, and how many has your team done? (The one U.S. randomized trial of the pump for this cancer, NCT04891289, runs at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York.)
  9. What warning signs — such as yellow skin or eyes, fever with chills, dark urine, or strong belly pain — should make me call you or go to the ER?

9. Your support after this report

This report is general information to help you find and talk to specialists. It is not medical advice, does not identify or confirm any condition, and does not recommend a treatment. Treatment decisions belong to you and your doctors. No doctor or hospital pays to be included in this report.

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