title: Cholangiocarcinoma: an-eight-year experience in a tertiary-center in Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an uncommon malignancy of the bile duct, occurring in nearly 2 out of 100,000 people. It is a type of adenocarcinoma that originates in the mucous glands of the epithelium, or surface layers of the bile ducts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features, diagnostic results and factors associated with survival, morbidity and mortalityof cholangiocarcinoma cases in Iranian patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study the hospital medical records of 283 patients with a primary or final diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma who had been admitted to gastroenterology ward of our hospital from 2004 to 2011 were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  283 patients (180 male, 63%, and 103 female, 38.6%) with a mean age of 59.7±14.4 years were studied. The most frequent symptoms were painless jaundice (190, 66.9%), abdominal pain (77, 27%), pruritus 133 (46.8%) and weight loss (169, 59.5%). The most frequent associated risk factors and diseases were as follows: gallstones (72, 25.4%), diabetes (70, 24.6%), HBV infection (52 (18.3%), HCV infection 43 (15%), primary sclerosing cholangitis (16, 5.6%) and smoking (120, 42.3%). The most frequent type of cholangiocarcinoma in ERCP and MRCP was hilar. The mean survival time was 7.42±5.76 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mean survival time in our study was lower than one year. Moreover the most frequent risk factors and associated diseases were smoking, gallstones and diabetes. Painless jaundice, abdominal pain and weight loss were the most clinical features related to cholangiocarcinoma. Additionally survival time did not correlate with risk factors, associated diseases and clinical presentations, but was linked to biliary metallic stenting and surgery.
authors: Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Talegani Hospital, Tehran, Iran. ahmaliver@yahoo.com
authors: Amir Houshang
authors: AH
authors: Mohammad-Alizadeh
authors: Mehdi
authors: M
authors: Ghobakhlou
authors: Hamid Mohaghegh
authors: HM
authors: Shalmani
authors: Mohammad Reza
authors: MR
authors: Zali
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000473:pathology*; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D055815:Young Adult