Influence of hepatic resection margin on recurrence and survival in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare disease in the Western world, hence little is known about its optimal surgical management. We analyzed whether hepatic resection margin is a prognostic factor for local or distant recurrence and survival in patients resected with curative intent. Methods: Seventy-four patients underwent potentially curative surgery for ICC at our institution from 1994 to 2007. Demographic, and tumor- and surgery-related details including hepatic resection margin were recorded, patients were followed up for recurrence and survival. All patients were resected using modern dissection devices (CUSA (R) or Waterjet (R)). Results: Fifty-nine patients (80%) underwent R0 resection, 15 (20%) had a resection margin greater than 10 mm (wide margin, WM) and 38 (51%) between 1 and 10 mm (close margin, CM). In 14 patients (19%), hepatic resection margin was involved on histological examination; perioperative mortalities were excluded from analysis (n = 7). Forty-seven patients developed recurrence (WM, CM, and R1): hepatic recurrence was observed in 40%, 58%, and 50% of patients; extrahepatic spread occurred in 27, 16, and 14%; and 33, 26, and 36% had no recurrence of disease so far (P = 0.755). There was no difference between groups regarding local versus disseminated hepatic recurrence. Median recurrence free survival was 11.4 months (WM), 9.8 months (CM), and 9.9 months (R1), respectively (P = 0.880). Median overall survival was 27.2 months (WM), 29.7 months (CM), and not reached in the R1 group, (P = 0.350). Conclusion: Hepatic resection margin seems to play a minor role in the prognosis of ICC as long as complete tumor clearance can be achieved with a modern liver dissection technique.