Minjae Kim, Shin Hwang, Chul-Soo Ahn, Deok-Bog Moon, Tae-Yong Ha, Gi-Won Song, Dong-Hwan Jung, Gil-Chun Park, Ki-Hun Kim, Jung-Man Namgoong, Woo-Hyoung Kang, Young-In Yoon, Hwui-Dong Cho, Byeong-Gon Na, Sang Hoon Kim, Sung-Gyu Lee. Korean J Transplant 2022;36:45-53. https://doi.org/10.4285/kjt.21.0031

Park GC, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2020 Aug;35(37):e304. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e304

Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA) has wide histologic diversity. This study investigated the prognostic impacts of cHCC-CCA histology according to the 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) classification. This retrospective observational study included 153 patients who underwent surgical resection for cHCC-CCA at Asan Medical Center between August 2012 and July 2019. During the study period, 153 patients, 112 (73.2%) men and 41 (26.8%) women with a mean age of 56.4 ± 10.8 years, underwent R0 resection for cHCC-CCA. Mean tumor diameter was 4.2 ± 2.6 cm, and 147 (96.1%) patients had solitary tumors. According to 2019 WHO classification, 111 (72.5%) patients had cHCC-CCA alone, and 29 of them (26.1%) showed stem cell features. cHCC-CCA-intermediate cell carcinoma and cHCC-CCA-cholangiolocellular carcinoma were identified in 27 (17.6%) and 15 (9.8%), respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year tumor recurrence and patient survival rates were 31.8% and 92.1%, 49.8% and 70.9%, and 59.0% and 61.7%, respectively. Univariate analyses revealed that significant prognostic factors were tumor size >5 cm, microscopic and macroscopic vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor stage, and status of stem cell features. Multivariate analysis revealed 8th AJCC tumor stage and status of stem cell features as independent prognostic factors. 2019 WHO classification was not associated with post-resection prognosis. 2019 WHO classification was not associated with post-resection prognosis, thus was considered as simplified histologic classification requiring prognostic validation. We suggest that stem cell features should be included as an essential component of the pathology report for cHCC-CCA.

Purpose: Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) has wide histologic diversity. This study investigated the effects of cHCC-CC histology, according to the 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) classification, on patient prognosis. Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent surgical resection for cHCC-CC at our institution between July 2012 and June 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Results: During the study period, 168 patients, 122 males (72.6%) and 46 females (27.4%), underwent surgical resection for cHCC-CC, including 159 patients (94.6%) who underwent R0 resection. Mean tumor diameter was 4.4 +/- 2.8 cm, and 161 patients (95.8%) had solitary tumors. Histologically, 86 patients (51.2%) had classical type, and 82 (48.8%) had tumors with stem cell (SC) features, including 33 (19.6%) with intermediate-cell and 23 (13.7%) each with typical SC and cholangiolocellular features; 3 tumors (1.8%) were unclassifiable. At 1, 3, and 5 years, tumor recurrence rates were 31.9%, 49.6%, and 58.1%, respectively, and patient survival rates were 91.0%, 70.2%, and 60.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that tumor size of >5 cm, microscopic and macroscopic vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor stage, and 2010 WHO classification were significantly prognostic. Multivariate analysis showed that the 8th AJCC tumor stage and 2010 WHO histologic classification were independently prognostic for tumor recurrence and patient survival. There were no significant prognostic differences among the 3 SC subtypes. Conclusion: Postresection outcomes are better in patients with SC-type than with classical-type cHCC-CC.

Chung YK, et al. Ann Surg Treat Res. 2021 Jul;101(1):37-48. https://doi.org/10.4174/astr.2021.101.1.37

Shin Hwang, Byeong-Gon Na, Minjae Kim, Dae-Hyeon Won. Ann Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg 2021;25:517-22. https://doi.org/10.14701/ahbps.2021.25.4.517