Is there a role for systematic hepatic pedicle lymphadenectomy in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma? A review of 17 years of experience in a tertiary institution

Background Although use of lymphadenectomy for treatment of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is established, routine lymphadenectomy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains controversial. We examined the factors predicting survival in patients after ICC resection and compared outcomes of patients with and without systematic hepatic pedicle lymph node dissection (LND). Methods Data were retrospectively collected for 215 patients with ICC who underwent liver resection during the years 1995-2012. Patients were divided into those (n = 102; 47.4%) who received LND (LN [D]) and those (n = 113; 52.6%) who did not (LN [D0]). Results Demographic data were similar between the 2 groups except for presence of preoperative symptom (P =.019) and liver cirrhosis (P <.001), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (P =.003), tumor location according to the hepatic lobe (P <.001), type of hepatectomy (P <.001), adjuvant treatment (P <.001), and postoperative complications (P =.028). Tumor recurrence at a distant site was observed in 102 patients (68.5%). LN metastasis was independently associated with risk of distant recurrence (P =.002). The LN (D) and LN (D0) groups did not differ in overall survival (P =.101) or disease-free survival (P =.111). Poorly differentiated histologic grade (P =.016) and LN metastasis (P <.001) was identified as an independent predictor of overall survival. Conclusion Routine LND for ICC did not show survival benefits; however, LN sampling might be useful for nodal staging, an essential factor in predicting outcome and deciding whether to apply adjuvant treatment.