Early versus late recurrence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after resection with curative intent

Background The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics, treatment and prognosis of early versus late recurrence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) after hepatic resection. Methods Patients who underwent resection with curative intent for ICC were identified from a multi‐institutional database. Data on clinicopathological characteristics, initial operative details, timing and sites of recurrence, recurrence management and long‐term outcomes were analysed. Results A total of 933 patients were included. With a median follow‐up of 22 months, 685 patients (73·4 per cent) experienced recurrence of ICC; 406 of these (59·3 per cent) developed only intrahepatic disease recurrence. The optimal cutoff value to differentiate early (540 patients, 78·8 per cent) versus late (145, 21·2 per cent) recurrence was defined as 24 months. Patients with early recurrence had extrahepatic disease more often (44·1 per cent versus 28·3 per cent in those with late recurrence; P