Prospective Study
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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2014; 20(21): 6658-6665
Published online Jun 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i21.6658
Prognostic factors in patients with middle and distal bile duct cancers
Hyung Jun Kwon, Sang Geol Kim, Jae Min Chun, Won Kee Lee, Yoon Jin Hwang
Hyung Jun Kwon, Sang Geol Kim, Yoon Jin Hwang, Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Daegu 702-210, South Korea
Jae Min Chun, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 700-422, South Korea
Won Kee Lee, Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 700-422, South Korea
Author contributions: Kwon HJ is the first author and composed the majority of the manuscript; Chun JM prepared the literature review; Hwang YJ designed and coordinated the study and helped to draft the manuscript; Lee WK a statistician and analyzed the data; and Kim SG is the corresponding author and performed the surgery in addition to initiating and guiding the program of identifying the prognostic factors of extrahepatic bile duct cancer; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Kyungpook National University Research Fund, 2012
Correspondence to: Sang Geol Kim, MD, Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, 807 Hogukno, Buk-gu, Daegu 702-210, South Korea. ksg@knu.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-53-2002703 Fax: +82-53-2002027
Received: October 7, 2013
Revised: February 25, 2014
Accepted: March 12, 2014
Published online: June 7, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: The prognosis in bile duct cancer is unfavorable and varies according to the type of surgery, curability, and pathological factors. We analyzed data collected over a period of 22 years that provide valuable information regarding the prognosis. We show that pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) has a higher chance of curative resection and suggest that BDR should be applied only to tumors located around the cystic duct or in patients with comorbidity precluding PD. Tumor node metastasis stage and lymphovascular invasion are independent prognostic factors. We believe this study to be of great value for the physician and surgeon treating patients with these rare tumors.