Survival and quality of life of cholangiocarcinoma patients: a prospective study over a 4 year period.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) are tumors with a poor prognosis and a lower quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival rate and quality of life in CCA patients. METHOD We prospectively enrolled 133 patients diagnosed with CCA in the 3rd Medical Clinic, Cluj Napoca, over a 4-year period (2005-2009). The QoL was evaluated by means of a QoL questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 65 +/- 10.6 years: 55% were males. 71% of the patients had hilar tumor (Klatskin), 23% distal and 6% intrahepatic CCA (IH). Only 11.3% of the patients were eligible to receive curative treatment. The 1-year overall survival was 22.3 +/- 4.4% and the 2-year survival was 3.4 +/- 2.1%. The patients receiving metallic stents had better survival than those receiving plastic stents (40.4% vs 12.5% at 1 year, 9.1% vs 5.0% at 2 years, respectively). The 1-year survival was significantly improved for patients who underwent surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy. The post-therapy QoL demonstrated a less improvement in Klatskin tumor patients than in patients with other types of tumors. Endoscopic palliative therapy allowed a faster community reintegration, but with variable evolution. CONCLUSIONS The highest 2-year survival rate was 5.5%. Slightly longer survival was recorded when chemotherapy was added and also after endoscopic placement of metallic stents. Endoscopic biliary decompression improved the QoL faster than surgery.