Cholangiocellular carcinoma of the liver.

Of the 118 patients with primary liver cancer treated in our clinic during a 6 year 7 month period, 11 patients had cholangiocellular carcinoma of the liver. Ten (90.9 percent) of the 11 patients underwent surgery, and 9 (90 percent) had major hepatic resection with no operative deaths. Seven were still alive at the time of the study 2 months to 4 years 1 month after surgery. Three patients died from recurrence 9 months, 11 months, and 1 year 4 months after surgery. The 1 and 3 year actuarial survival rates after hepatic resection were excellent (85.7 and 61.2 percent, respectively) compared with the 1 and 3 year rates of 58.8 and 0 percent in the Japanese series. Even though the cholangiocellular carcinomas in our 11 patients were in the advanced stages, good results were obtained by hepatic resection. If they were detected at a much earlier time, an even more remarkable survival rate could be expected.