The role of adjuvant therapy after R0 resection for patients with intrahepatic and perihilar cholangiocarcinomas

Purpose: There is still debated regarding the optimal treatment strategy for cholangiocarcinoma (CC) after curative resection. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of adjuvant therapy in R0-resected intrahepatic and perihilar CCs. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the patients who underwent R0 resection for intrahepatic and perihilar CCs between January 2001 and December 2013 at six tertiary medical centers; adjuvant therapy consisted of chemotherapy (CT), chemoradiotherapy (CRT), or radiotherapy (RT). The outcomes of our study were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: We included a total of 137 consecutive patients in the analysis; 58.4% of them had intrahepatic CCs, and 25.5% had lymph node (LN) involvement. Seventy-three patients (53.3%) had received adjuvant therapy (CT, CRT, RT: 48, 13, 12, respectively), and most patients who had received adjuvant therapy had stage III or IVA, T3 or 4 tumors, and positive LNs. Multivariable analysis identified positive LN [hazard ratio (HR) 3.47; P < 0.001] and high baseline CA 19-9 level (HR 1.82; P = 0.027) as predictors of decreased OS. The effects of adjuvant therapy varied according to the treatment modality; adjuvant CRT showed significantly longer RFS than surgery only (HR 0.44; P = 0.036), with a nonsignificant trend for better OS (HR 0.46; P = 0.115). Conclusions: Adjuvant CT and RT were not associated with a survival advantage in R0-resected intrahepatic and perihilar CCs. CRT appears to be appropriate treatment after complete resection.