External beam radiation therapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy for patients with unresectable locally advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma

Background/Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) compared to radiotherapy (RT) for unresectable, locally advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA). Methodology: Between 2001 and 2010, 34 patients with unresectable locally advanced HCCA at our institute were reviewed. Eighteen patients received RT and 16 patients received CCRT. Survivals and multivariate analyses were performed to explore potential variables affecting survivals. Results: There were 18 males and 16 females, with a median age of 72 years and median follow-up time 9.4 months. The median overall survival (OS) was 10.4 months (95% CI, 6.7-13.5) with the 1-year survival rates of 41%. The median OS and progression-free survival (PFS) were 13.5 months and 8.8 months for patients receiving CCRT as compared to 6.7 months and 4.4 months for patients receiving RT alone (p = 0.003 and p = 0.005, respectively). On multivariate analysis demonstrated that Karnofsky performance status (KPS) > 80 (p = 0.001), pretreatment carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) 200 U/ml (p = 0.045) and CCRT were prognostic factors for OS and PFS. Conclusions: As compared with RT, CCRT provides longer OS and PFS for patients with unresectable HCCA. The efficacy of adding novel chemotherapeutic to RT needs to be further investigated.