Predictive factors for long-term survival in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background: In order to elucidate the predictive factors for long-term survival in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), we evaluated 7 patients who survived for more than 5 years (5-year survivors). Methods: We examined the clinicopathologic and biologic factors of the 5-year survivors, and these findings were then compared with those in 20 patients who died within 5 years after surgery (control group). Results: In the 5-year survivors, the gross appearance of the tumors included a mass-forming (MF) type in 5 cases, an intraductal growth (IG) type in 1, and another type (microcarcinoma with hepatolithiasis) in 1. No case demonstrated a periductal infiltrating (PI) type. Except for I case with an IG type tumor. no lymph node metastasis was seen in any patients. All of the 5-year survivors were classified from stage I to III, and all also underwent a curative resection. The clinicopathologic factors demonstrating significant differences between the 5-year survivors and the control group included the gross type of the tumor. lymph node involvement, the surgical margin, curability, and pTNM stage. Conclusion: The predictive factors for long-term survival in patients with ICC are thus suggested to include not only tumor staging and curability, but also lymph node metastasis and the gross type of the tumors. (C) 2001 Excerpta Medica. Inc. All rights reserved.