Prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma stratified by albumin–bilirubin grade

Abstract Aim Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly aggressive malignancy. However, the characteristics and prognosis of ICC is not well known. This study aims to reveal the relationship between liver function and prognosis of ICC. Methods A total of 83 ICC patients were recruited retrospectively from March 2009 to August 2020. Child–Pugh (CP) and albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) scores were used to assess liver function. The extent of portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) was classified from Vp0 to Vp4. The end‐point for this analysis was overall survival (OS). Results The median age was 72 (44–88) years, 48 patients were male (57.8%), and 70 patients were classified as CP grade A (84.3%). At baseline, chronic liver disease (hepatitis B, 9.6%; hepatitis C, 15.7%; alcoholic liver disease, 9.6%; and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, 4.8%) were diagnosed. The median OS of all ICC patients was 21.2 months. A total of 27 patients underwent surgical resection; these patients showed a longer median OS compared to those who did not undergo surgery (50.8 months vs. 5.5 months, p < 0.001). The prognosis of patients with ICC can be stratified by ALBI grade (grade 1, 54.3 months; grade 2a, 8.4 months; grade 2b, 3.9 months; and grade 3, 1.4 months; p < 0.001) and the extent of PVTT (Vp0, 54.3 months; Vp1/2, 8.4 months; and Vp3/4, 3.9 months; p = 0.0039). Conclusion In this study, viral hepatitis (25.3%) was identified as the most prevalent background liver disease of ICC. Assessing liver function using ALBI grade is useful for stratifying the prognosis of patients with ICC.