Prognostic Factors in Resected Biliary Tract Cancers and the Impact of Cytokeratin 20 Expression

Abstract

125 Biliary tract cancers (BTC) are a group of malignant tumors originating from the bile duct epithelium and include intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC), and gallbladder carcinoma (GBC).1,2 They constitute 0.7% of all cancers and 3% of all gastrointestinal cancers; approximately 250,000 new patients were diagnosed in 2020.3-5 Unfortunately,70% of BTCs are unresectable at the time of diagnosis, and their 5-year survival rate ranges from 5% to 15%.6,7 Although surgery being the only definitive treatment, R0 resection is possible in only 70% of patients. Moreover, the median overall survival (OS) duration of operated patients is less than 5 years despite the usage of modern surgical methods and adjuvant therapies.8