Outcome and validation of a new clinically based staging system for predicting survival of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma patients

The pros and cons of the PCC staging system to guide surgical resectability and prognosis

Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PCC) is a malignant mass originating from the bile ducts. There is currently no unified treatment plan, and there are various treatment methods applied in clinical practice, as well as several different staging and typing systems to guide resectability, prognosis and survival prediction. The choice of treatment for PCC is closely related to the stage of the tumor. Accurate preoperative staging is necessary for correct resectability assessment and the selection of a reasonable treatment plan and surgical method; similarly, accurate postoperative pathological staging is necessary to guide further treatment and judgment of the patient's prognosis. A universally accepted staging system facilitates the comparison of cases between different centers, but there is much debate about the classification and staging of PCC. At present, the existing staging systems include the Bismuth-Corlette classification, AJCC/UICC TNM staging, modified T staging, Gazzaniga staging, JSBS staging, and Mayo staging. Each system has advantages, but there is no comprehensive guide for tumor resectability, prognosis, and survival. In this paper, the pros and cons of the different systems for staging PCC in terms of resectability, prognosis and survival prediction are discussed.

Modification of the eighth AJCC/UICC staging system for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma: An alternative pathological staging system from cholangiocarcinoma-prevalent Northeast Thailand

Aim

This study aims to improve the classification performance of the eighth American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) by proposing the Khon Kaen University (KKU) staging system developed in cholangiocarcinoma-prevalent Northeast Thailand.

Method

Four hundred eighty-eight patients with pCCA who underwent partial hepatectomy between 2002 and 2017 at the Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, were included. Overall survival (OS) related to clinicopathological features was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Logrank test was performed in univariate analysis to compare OS data of clinicopathological features to determine risk factors for poor survival. Significant features were further analyzed by multivariate analysis (Cox regression) to identify prognostic factors which were then employed to modify the eighth AJCC staging system.

Results

Multivariate analysis showed that growth pattern (HR = 4.67–19.72, p < 0.001), moderately and poorly differentiated histological grades (HR = 2.31–4.99, p < 0.05 and 0.001, respectively), lymph node metastasis N1 and N2 (HR = 1.37 and 2.18, p < 0.05 and 0.01, respectively), and distant metastasis (HR = 2.11, p < 0.001) were independent factors when compared to their respective reference groups. There was a clear separation of patients with pCCA into KKU stage: I [OS = 116 months (mo.)], II (OS = 46 mo.), IIIA (OS = 24 mo.), IIIB (11 mo.), IVA (OS = 7 mo.), and IVB (OS = 6 mo.).

Conclusion

The new staging system was based on the incorporation of growth patterns to modify the eighth AJCC staging system. The classification performance demonstrated that the KKU staging system was able to classify and distinctly separate patients with pCCA into those with good and poor outcomes. It was also able to improve the stratification performance and discriminative ability of different stages of pCCA classification better than the eighth AJCC staging system. Hence, the KKU staging system is proposed as an alternative model to augment the accuracy of survival prognostication and treatment performance for patients with pCCA.

Italian Clinical Practice Guidelines on Cholangiocarcinoma - Part I: Classification, diagnosis and staging

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common primary liver cancer, characterized by a poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapeutics. The progressive increase in CCA incidence and mortality registered worldwide in the last two decades and the need to clarify various aspects of clinical management have prompted the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF) to commission the drafting of dedicated guidelines in collaboration with a group of Italian scientific societies. These guidelines have been formulated in accordance with the Italian National Institute of Health indications and developed by following the GRADE method and related advancements.