Carcinoma of the extrahepatic biliary tree: analysis of 15 cases

Arm: to analyze the epidemiology, prognosis and treatment of those diagnose d as having cholangiocarcinoma of the extrahepatic biliary tree. METHODS: a prospective study including all cases diagnosed over a period of 26 months. Fifteen patients with primary bile duct carcinoma were included . RESULTS: the incidence rate was 3.23 cases/10(4). The tumor locations were: 40% proximal bile duct, 33% distal bile duct, and 27% mid-duct. The treatm ents used were: curative resection in 1 case (7%); palliative surgery in 3 cases (20%); internal drainage through a prosthetic biliary stent by endosc opic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in 6 cases (40%) and by percutaneo us transhepatic cholangiography in 2 cases (13%); external bile drainage in case (7%), and in the remaining 2 patients (13%) no treatment was possible . The 1-month, 6-month and 10-month survival rates were 67%, 40% and 33% re spectively. Factors associated with a worse survival in this study were age over 70 years and female sex. The worst prognostic location was the mid-du ct compared to the distal and proximal thirds. CONCLUSIONS: the incidence of the primary bile duct carcinoma is high in ou r population. The commonest location is the proximal bile duct. Curative su rgical resection is possible in only a few cases, and thus the overall prog nosis is very bad.