Prognostic factors of resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a rare disease. The prognostic factors of resectable cholangiocarcinoma have not been previously reported. Nineteen patients (10M, 9F) with resectable cholangiocarcinoma were investigated to find factors that might influence prognosis. The cumulative survival rate was measured using the Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test was used to compare two survivals. Age, sex, tumor size, and positive tissue carcinoembryonic antigen were factors that had no influence on prognosis. Patients with a positive HLA-DR, a well-differentiated carcinoma, and a clear resective margin had better prognoses but were statistically undifferentiatable from the other patients. Patients with positive hilar lymph nodes had poor prognoses (P < 0.01), whereas patients with positive mucobilia had good prognoses (P < 0.05). Positive staining for HLA-DR on tumor cells was observed in nine of 19 cases of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The positive HLA-DR staining correlated with a better prognosis, but no significant difference was noted between the positive and negative HLA-DR staining group. A positive hilar lymph node was a grave sign, as almost all patients of positive lymph node died within 9 months after operation. Positive mucobilia was a good prognostic sign that correlated with the long-term survival.