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Published on: February 10, 2015
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Limited to Intrahepatic Bile Ducts Has Distinctly Better Prognosis
Vijay S Are1, Mark A Gromski1, Fatih Akisik2
1Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, 702 Rotary Circle, Suite 225, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
Background:
There are two sub-phenotypes of large-duct primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC): isolated intrahepatic PSC (IIPSC) and extrahepatic disease with or without intrahepatic (extra/intrahepatic).
Aims:
This study examined the differences in outcomes in patients with IIPSC compared to extra/intrahepatic and small-duct PSC.
Methods:
Patients with PSC treated at our institution from 1998 to 2019 were investigated. Biochemistries, clinical events, and survival were assessed by chart review and National Death Index. Cox-proportional hazards were used to determine the risk of clinical outcomes based on biliary tract involvement.
Results:
Our cohort comprised 442 patients with large-duct PSC (57 had IIPSC, 385 had extra/intrahepatic PSC) and 23 with small-duct PSC. Median follow-up in the IIPSC group was not significantly different from the extra/intrahepatic group [7 vs. 6 years, P = 0.06]. Except for lower age (mean 37.9 vs. 43.0 years, P = 0.045), the IIPSC group was not different from the extra/intrahepatic. The IIPSC group had longer transplant-free survival (log-rank P = 0.001) with a significantly lower risk for liver transplantation (12% vs. 34%, P < 0.001). The IIPSC group had a lower risk of death or transplantation than the extra/intrahepatic PSC group [HR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.67, P < 0.001]. No bile duct or gallbladder cancers developed in patients with IIPSC, compared to 24 in the extra/intrahepatic group. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of IIPSC were similar to 23 individuals with small-duct PSC.
Conclusions:
Patients with IIPSC have a favorable prognosis similar to small-duct PSC. These data are important for counseling patients and designing therapeutic trials for PSC.
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