title: Impact of adjuvant chemoradiation on survival in patients with resectable cholangiocarcinoma.
abstract: The ideal adjuvant therapy for resected cholangiocarcinoma remains controversial. National guidelines stratify recommendations based on margin status, though few studies are currently available for reference.
  
  
  
  Data was abstracted on all patients with definitive resections of cholangiocarcinoma at our institution between 2000 and 2013. Adjuvant chemoradiation consisted of 45 Gy delivered to elective nodal regions and 50.4-54 Gy to the surgical bed with concurrent fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy. Subgroup analyses were performed delineated by margin status.
  
  
  
  Curative resection was performed on 95 patients followed by adjuvant chemoradiation in 23/95 (24%) and observation in 72/95 (76%) with a median follow-up of 21.7 months. For those receiving adjuvant chemoradiation the median overall survival was 30.2 months compared with 26.3 months for those observed (p = 0.0695). In a multivariable model controlling for other prognostic factors, adjuvant chemoradiation was associated with improved disease-free survival (HR 0.50, p = 0.03) and overall survival (HR 0.37, p = 0.004). In multivariable models stratified by margin status, adjuvant chemoradiation was associated with improved overall survival following both margin-negative (HR 0.34, p = 0.035) and margin-positive (HR 0.15, p = 0.003) resections.
  
  
  
  Overall survival was improved with adjuvant chemoradiation following either margin-negative or margin-positive resections, which is not currently reflected in national guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. Electronic address: lldover@uabmc.edu.
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Dover
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Transplant Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Derek A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: DuBay
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Rojymon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jacob
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000407:Alabama; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D059186:Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D000072662:Margins of Excision; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual; D016577:Pancreaticoduodenectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome