Papillary phenotype confers improved survival after resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma

The current study compares outcome after resection of papillary hilar cholangiocarcinoma to that of the more common nodular-sclerosing subtype.

Clinical, radiologic, histopathologic, and survival data on all patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma were analyzed. Resected tumors were reexamined and classified as nodular-sclerosing (no component of papillary carcinoma) or papillary (any component of papillary carcinoma); for papillary tumors, the proportion of invasive carcinoma present was determined. Differences in the clinical behavior and histopathologic features of nodular-sclerosing and papillary tumors were assessed.

From January 1991 to November 2003, 279 patients were evaluated, 154 men (55.2%) and 125 women (44.8%), with a mean age of 65.4 +/- 0.7 years (median = 68, range 23-87 years). Of the 215 patients explored, 106 (49.5%) underwent a complete gross resection. An en bloc partial hepatectomy (n = 87) and an R0 resection (n = 82) were independent predictors of favorable outcome. Operative mortality was 7.5% but was 2.8% over the last 4 years of the study, and there were no operative deaths in the last 33 consecutive resections. Twenty-five resected tumors (23.6%) contained a papillary component: 12 were minimally or noninvasive (<10% invasive cancer) and 13 had an invasive component ranging from 10% to 95% (> or =10%). Patients with papillary and nodular-sclerosing tumors had similar demographics, operative procedures, and proportion of R0 resections. By contrast, papillary tumors were significantly larger, more often well-differentiated, and earlier stage. Disease-specific survival after resection of papillary tumors (55.7 months) was greater than after resection of nodular-sclerosing lesions (33.5 months, P = 0.013). The papillary phenotype was an independent predictor of survival, although the benefit was more pronounced for less invasive tumors.

The presence of a component of papillary carcinoma is more common than previous reports have suggested and is an important determinant of survival after resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma.