Prognostic significance of tumor budding in biliary tract cancer

Background: Tumor budding is a significant prognostic indicator for poor survival of several solid tumors. However, due to the lack of a standard scoring system, its clinical application for biliary tract cancer (BTC) is limited. Objective: To identify the prognostic significance of tumor budding in BTC. Results: Tumor budding was associated with poor histologic differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, lymph node metastasis, positive surgical margin, etc. Tumor budding was a predictor of poor OS in univariate (HR: 4.36; 95% CI 3.15 to 6.02; P < 0.001) and multivariate (HR: 2.95; 95% CI 2.28 to 3.80; P < 0.001) analysis. Similarly, it was also a predictor of poor DFS in univariate (HR: 3.26; 95% CI 2.12 to 4.99; P < 0.001) and multivariate (HR: 3.21; 95% CI 1.90 to 5.40; P < 0.001) analysis. In addition, tumor budding was also associated with advanced T-stage, poor histologic differentiation, lymph node metastasis, positive resection margin, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, and perineural invasion. Conclusion: Results of our study have shown that tumor budding is a strong predictor of poor survival for BTC. The clinical utility of tumor budding as a prognostic marker for BTC should be considered after developing a standard international consensus based on the current evidence. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd, BASO similar to The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Tumor budding is identified as a significant predictor of poor survival for biliary tract cancer (BTC), associated with poor histologic differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, and other factors. It has the potential to serve as a prognostic marker for BTC, pending the development of a standardized international consensus.