Predictive factors for long-term survival in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
BACKGROUND
In order to elucidate the predictive factors for long-term survival in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), we evaluated 7 patients who survived for more than 5 years (5-year survivors).


METHODS
We examined the clinicopathologic and biologic factors of the 5-year survivors, and these findings were then compared with those in 20 patients who died within 5 years after surgery (control group).


RESULTS
In the 5-year survivors, the gross appearance of the tumors included a mass-forming (MF) type in 5 cases, an intraductal growth (IG) type in 1, and another type (microcarcinoma with hepatolithiasis) in 1. No case demonstrated a periductal infiltrating (PI) type. Except for 1 case with an IG type tumor, no lymph node metastasis was seen in any patients. All of the 5-year survivors were classified from stage I to III, and all also underwent a curative resection. The clinicopathologic factors demonstrating significant differences between the 5-year survivors and the control group included the gross type of the tumor, lymph node involvement, the surgical margin, curability, and pTNM stage.


CONCLUSIONS
The predictive factors for long-term survival in patients with ICC are thus suggested to include not only tumor staging and curability, but also lymph node metastasis and the gross type of the tumors.
Isa
T
T
First Department of Surgery, Ryukyu University School of Medicine, 207 Uehara, Nishihara-cho, 903-0125, Okinawa, Japan. b983858@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
Kusano
T
T
Shimoji
H
H
Takeshima
Y
Y
Muto
Y
Y
Furukawa
M
M
D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000368:Aged; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017741:Survivors
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor