Objective: To evaluate the prognostic significance of microscopic bile duct invasion (MiBDI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following R0 resection.
Patients and methods: Patients who underwent R0 resection for HCC at nine medical centers were stratified into five groups: neither bile duct nor vascular invasion (MiBDI-MVI-), microscopic bile duct invasion alone (MiBDI+MVI-), both microscopic bile duct and vascular invasion (MiBDI+MVI+), microscopic vascular invasion alone (MiBDI-MVI+), and macroscopic bile duct invasion (MaBDI). Overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and independent risk factors of OS were determined using Cox proportional hazards models.
Results: A total of 377 HCC cases were analyzed. The OS for MiBDI+MVI- was similar to that of MiBDI-MVI- (p > 0.05) but better than MiBDI+MVI+, MiBDI-MVI+, and MaBDI (all p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that MiBDI was not an independent risk factor for OS, while MVI and MaBDI were.
Conclusions: Overall survival (OS) in patients with MiBDI was superior to those with MVI and MaBDI. Isolated MiBDI did not influence OS in patients with HCC after R0 resection.
Keywords: bile duct invasion; hepatocellular carcinoma; survival; vascular invasion.
© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.