BACKGROUND:

Lymph node metastasis is a significant prognostic factor in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. This study was aimed at investigating lymph node metastasis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and to examine whether the extent of metastasis affects outcomes after surgery.

METHODS:

From 1980 through 1996, 70 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma underwent hepatectomy, with a 50% curative resection rate. Lymph node dissection was performed in 51 patients, and the presence of lymph node metastasis was examined microscopically. The metastatic nodes were divided into groups N1, N2 or N3 using the classification proposed by the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan.

RESULTS:

Twenty-three patients had lymph node metastasis. Metastasis was to N1 nodes in 10 patients, to N2 nodes in nine patients and to N3 nodes in four patients. Nineteen patients had metastatic nodes in the hepatoduodenal ligament, which was the most common metastatic site regardless of tumor location. The five-year survival rate in patients with lymph node metastasis (0%) was significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than that in patients without lymph node metastasis (51 %); however, five-year survival rates did not differ between patients with metastases to N1, N2 and N3 nodes.

CONCLUSIONS:

Lymph nodes in the hepatoduodenal ligament may be sentinel nodes for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and outcomes after surgery for patients with lymph node metastasis are poor regardless of the sites of nodal metastasis.