Prognostic Impact of Desmoplastic Reaction Evaluation for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Background/Aim: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the desmoplastic reaction (DR) and clinicopathological features, and the prognosis using cases of resected intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Patients and Methods: Out of 54 cases that were preoperatively diagnosed with ICC and underwent resection at our department, 47 patients were included in this study. All sections were prepared from resected specimens and were microscopically observed following H&E staining. Stroma were evaluated at the advancing edge of the cancer and stratified into three DR types: mature (DR1), intermediate (DR2), and immature (DR3). Results: DR was correlated to the serum levels of CA19-9, but not to the other tumor factors. In multivariate analysis, only DR and tumor size were determined as independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: Evaluation of DR for ICC may be useful for prognostic assessments.