Location, not staging, of cholangiocarcinoma determines the role for adjuvant chemoradiation therapy

The role of adjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CT/XRT) in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma is controversial. We undertook this study to determine whether CT/XRT is appropriate after resection of cholangiocarcinomas. One hundred ninety-two patients with cholangiocarcinomas were treated from 1988 to 1999. After resection, patients were assigned a stage (TNM) and were stratified by location of the tumor as intrahepatic, perihilar, and distal tumors. Data are presented as mean +/- standard deviation. Of 192 patients 92 (48%) underwent resections of cholangiocarcinomas. Thirty-four patients had liver resections, 25 had bile duct resections, and 33 underwent pancreaticoduodenectomies. Thirty-four patients had adjuvant CT/XRT, three had adjuvant chemotherapy, four had neoadjuvant CT/XRT, and 50 had no radiation or chemotherapy. Mean survival of resected patients with adjuvant CT/XRT was 42 +/- 37.0 months and without CT/XRT it was 29 24.5 months (P = 0.07). Mean survival of patients with distal tumors receiving or not receiving CT/XRT was 41 +/- 21.8 versus 25 +/- 20.1 months, respectively, (P = 0.04). Adjuvant chemoradiation improves survival after resection for cholangiocarcinoma (P = 0.07) particularly in patients undergoing resection for distal tumors (P = 0.04). Benefits of adjuvant CT/XRT are apparent when stratified by location of cholangiocarcinomas rather than staging.