Addition of hepatectomy decreases liver recurrence and leads to long survival in hilar cholangiocarcinoma

Table 1 Pathologic characteristics and serum bilirubin level in patients

Number of patients	Lymph node metastases	Extension in liver parenchyma	Invasion of nervous tissue	Serum bilirubin (&mgr;mol/L)
Curative resection	11	17	20	267 ± 158
Palliative resection	8	13	19	280 ± 161

There were no significant differences between the data of the two groups (Curative resection vs palliative resection, P > 0.05).

Table 2 Surgical treatment of Bismuth stage

Number of patients	Without hepatectomy	Addition of hepatectomy
		Caudate lobe	Without caudate lobe
Bismuth I	7	2	1
Bismuth II	11	10	2
Bismuth III	13	15	7
Bismuth IV	0	1	0

Radical resection rates combined with hepatectomy significantly improved curative rates compared with those without additional hepatectomy (27/38 vs 13/31; χ² = 5.94, P < 0.05).