Team Cure Cholangio

08/07/2026

100% of all funds raised by Team Cure Cholangio are earmarked for research only. YOU can help us make a difference.

https://gofund.me/ad4a95fa8

06/17/2026

Interesting read for those with HER2 Positive Mutation

05/15/2026

Live update on Research Team Cure Cholangio funded in memory of Penny Ziegler, Arturo Mendoza and TJ Wallace. Starts at minute 46:23 and ends with mention of these three incredible warriors stolen way too soon at minute 52:14.

Chairs: Nabeel El-Bardeesy and Sumera IlyasThis session was recor...

05/13/2026

05/13/2026

We hope to see you at our next fundraiser!!! Thursday October 22 @ BBC Tavern and Grill, Greenville DE 19807. We would love you to be a guest bartender! Please pm me if interested. We are also seeking silent auction items. You can help us find more research in hopes of a cure for Cholangiocarcinoma!

05/10/2026

Team Cure Cholangio is excited to share that with your generous support we funded another research fellowship grant this year. This years research fellowship grant honors Steve Wilger and Hayes Calvin, two incredible warriors stolen way too soon. The research fellowship grant was awarded to Xue Wang, at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Here is information about the research we are funding! so exciting! more research is more hope!

Title: YAP Inhibition–Based Combination Immunotherapy for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a deadly liver cancer that weakens the body’s immune defenses and prevents immune cells from attacking the tumor. The most common immunotherapy, called immune checkpoint inhibitor–based combination therapy, helps some patients but is not very effective overall. To improve treatment, we need to understand why ICC tumors are able to suppress the body’s immune response. Our research has identified a protein called YAP that helps ICC tumors avoid being attacked by the immune system. When we turned off YAP in a mouse model of ICC, the tumors became smaller and more immune cells, especially T cells, entered the tumor. In patients, tumors with higher YAP activity had fewer T cells, suggesting that YAP makes the tumor environment more resistant to immune attack. Importantly, when YAP inhibition was combined with an immunotherapy drug, this approach effectively suppressed tumor growth. We also found that YAP controls certain molecules that influence how immune cells behave in the tumor. Together, these findings suggest that YAP activation helps create an environment in the tumors that weakens the body’s immune response. Based on these results, our research aims to understand how YAP drives this immune-suppressive environment in ICC and to test whether combining a YAP inhibitor with immunotherapy can more effectively control tumor growth. This project has strong potential to lead to new treatment strategies that could improve outcomes for patients with this aggressive and often fatal liver cancer.

05/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100063828321113/posts/1460038922800371/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Intera Oncology aims to change the course for patients with colorectal cancer and choloangiocarinoma with the hepatic artery infusion pump.

04/18/2026

So proud of our incredible Board member Morgan for sharing her story to raise awareness about Cholangio

31 likes, 6 comments. "For MONTHS, My RARE CANCER Symptoms Were Dismissed!"

04/16/2026

Great information from the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation Australia- Make sure you follow them and add them to your must reads!

https://www.facebook.com/100064617555241/posts/1362026632627909/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

📰 Cholangio Today.
🔷 Immunotherapy does not create an immune response

This is where immunotherapy is often misunderstood.

Immunotherapy does not create a response.
It releases one that is already there.

It works by removing the brake on the immune system,
allowing existing T cells to continue their attack.

But this only works if something is already happening.

In most cholangiocarcinomas:

→ The tumour is not clearly seen
→ The immune system has not activated
→ There are few or no T cells present

So there is nothing to release.

When immunotherapy is given in this setting:

No recognition.
No engagement.
No meaningful change.

Not because the drug failed.
But because the system was never active.

This is the reality:

Most cholangiocarcinomas are cold tumours,
with little immune cell presence and limited response to immunotherapy

THAT MEANS
Not drug failure. There was no system to activate.
Their tumour was never visible to begin with.

So the question changes:

Not
“Why didn’t it work?”

But
“Was there a response there to release?”

That is where clarity begins.
That is where better decisions begin.

Full breakdown:
https://cholangio.org/immunotherapy-cholangiocarcinoma/