Disease recurrence patterns and analysis of clinicopathological progno

This study’s aim was to identify the outcome of Distal Cholangiocarcinoma patients resected between the years 1991 to 2010. It includes those with no cancerous tumor tissue (post resection) as well as those with microscopically identifiable tumor cells, RO and R1, respectively, after surgery.
Of 122 patients, 44 patients did not have disease recurrence.
Of the 80 patients with recurrence, 63.1 % lived one year and 36.4 % lived three years.
Based on this particular study, patients with R1 (microscopic cells visible after surgery) and those with RO (no identifiable malignant cells i.e. cells very different from normal cells) as well as those with lymph node involvement should be watched closely and treated with adjuvant therapy.
We must note that this is one retrospective study of a population group in Korea only. It also did not identify the type of adjuvant therapy to be applied.
Hugs,
Marion