Cholangiocarcinoma: A Single-center Western Experience

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to summarize the surgical management and to evaluate survival rate and clinical outcome of cholangiocarcinoma, in patients hospitalized in our Unit of Oncology and General Surgery.Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 76 consecutive patients with diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma. The surgical procedure was selected based on the origin of the neoplasia. Tumor stage was defined according to the pathological tumour-node-metastasis classification (TNM 7th edtn, 2010). After resection, all patients underwent regular follow-up.Results: During the study period, 58 patients underwent explorative laparotomy. Forty-six patients were submitted to respective surgery with curative intent. A curative resection (R0) was achieved in 42/46 resected patients. The overall median survival time was 14.2 months, with 1, 3 and 5 year survival rates of 53.6%, 37.7%, and 19.6%, respectively. The survival rates, for the patients underwent R0 resection, was respectively 69%, 47.8% and 32.6% at 1, 3 and 5 years, with median survival time of 20.1 months.Conclusions: Our experience confirms the main role of R0 surgery in the curative treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.