Conditional cancer-specific survival after radical hepatectomy in patients with nonmetastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Objectives To examine conditional survival (CS) in patients with non-metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (nmICC) after surgical treatment according to pT and pN stages. Methods A total of 608 patients were included. Conditional three-year cancer-specific mortality estimates were obtained according to pT and pN stages. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was applied to predict factors affecting cancer-specific mortality (CSM). Results According to substages based on pT and pN status, 109 patients (17.9%) with pT1aN0, 96 (15.8%) with pT1bN0, 205 (33.7%) with pT2N0, 82(13.5%) with pT3-5N0, and 116 (19.1%) with pTanyN1 were identified. Conditional CSM-free estimates increased from 75% to 87%, 66% to 70%, 53% to 86%, and 36 to 54% after three years of event-free follow-up in pT1b, pT2, pT3-4N0, and pTanyN1 patients, respectively, whereas it decreased from 87% to 79% in pT1aN0 patients. Based on multivariable analysis, patients with pT2N0 (hazard ratio [HR] 2.0 p < .01), pT3-4N0 (HR 2,7 p < .01), and pTanyN1-3 (HR 4.8 p < .01) had higher CSM than patients with pT1aN0 at baseline. Conclusions CS varied across stage categories in nmICC patients after surgery, and it was important in individualized clinical counseling and decision-making for nmICC.