Background: Metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma still has a dismal prognosis. The aim of our study was to investigate the prognostic role of bone metastases in patients affected by intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
Methods: A total of 186 metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients were retrospectively reviewed. Clinicopathologic and survival data were collected and reviewed, in particular overall survival, progression-free survival after first-line treatment and time from end of first-line therapy to cancer death.
Results: Around 11% of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients developed bone metastases. This subgroup of patients showed no differences in progression-free survival to first-line chemotherapy but had a shorter median overall survival of 4 months compared to the group with liver involvement only (p = 0.03). If treated, the outcome for ECOG PS 2 patients with bone metastases was worse in comparison to patients with liver involvement only with poor performance status (p = 0.003). The presence of bone metastases, poor performance status and no subsequent second-line treatment was associated with a worse outcome in multivariate analysis.
Conclusions: Patients with intrahepatic carcinoma and bone metastases with poor ECOG performance status might be treated with best supportive care and not active chemotherapy treatment, the decisions which have to be shared with patients.
Keywords: bone metastases; cholangiocarcinoma; intrahepatic; outcome; survival.