Background: The surgical outcome and prognostic factors of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma are not fully understood. This study aimed to establish the clinical significance of cirrhosis for prognosis in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after surgery.
Methods: One hundred fifteen patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection between December 2001 and January 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic significance of clinicopathologic factors including cirrhosis was assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results: Thirty-two of the 115 patients (28%) had liver cirrhosis. Complete tumor removal (R0 resection) was performed in 42 patients (75%). Overall median survival time was 21 months, with 1-, 3-, and 5-year actuarial survival rates of 68%, 27%, and 17%, respectively. There was a significant difference in survival between patients with cirrhosis and those without cirrhosis (P = 0.027). Univariate analysis showed that cirrhosis, vascular invasion, hepatic duct invasion, lymph node metastasis, positive surgical margin (R1), and TNM stage were significantly associated with poor survival. Multivariate analysis showed that cirrhosis, positive surgical margin, and lymph node metastases were related to survival, with hazard ratios of 2.49, 3.53, and 4.16, respectively.
Conclusions: Cirrhosis is an independent factor for poor prognosis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after surgery.