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Background: A right- or left-sided liver resection can be considered in about half of patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA), depending on tumor location and vascular involvement. This study compared postoperative mortality and long-term survival of right- versus left-sided liver resections for pCCA. Methods: Patients who underwent major liver resection for pCCA at 25 Western centers were stratified according to the type of hepatectomy—left, extended left, right, and extended right. The primary outcomes were 90-day mortality and overall survival (OS). Results: Between 2000 and 2022, 1701 patients underwent major liver resection for pCCA. The 90-day mortality was 9% after left-sided and 18% after right-sided liver resection (p < 0.001). The 90-day mortality rates were 8% (44/540) after left, 11% (29/276) after extended left, 17% (51/309) after right, and 19% (108/576) after extended right hepatectomy (p < 0.001). Median OS was 30 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 27–34) after left and 23 months (95% CI 20–25) after right liver resection (p < 0.001), and 33 months (95% CI 28–38), 27 months (95% CI 23–32), 25 months (95% CI 21–30), and 21 months (95% CI 18–24) after left, extended left, right, and extended right hepatectomy, respectively (p < 0.001). A left-sided resection was an independent favorable prognostic factor for both 90-day mortality and OS compared with right-sided resection, with similar results after excluding 90-day fatalities. Conclusions: A left or extended left hepatectomy is associated with a lower 90-day mortality and superior OS compared with an (extended) right hepatectomy for pCCA. When both a left and right liver resection are feasible, a left-sided liver resection is preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resection margin status is a known prognosticator in patients who undergo resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. However, the influence of an isolated positive circumferential margin on clinical outcome is unclear. Methods: Patients with resected de novo hilar cholangiocarcinoma from two European hepatobiliary centres (Medical University of Vienna and Aintree University Hospital, 2006–2016) were classified according to resection margin status (negative, surgically positive, isolated circumferentially positive) and investigated with respect to overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and recurrence pattern. Results: Eighty-three (48 male/35 female) patients were enrolled. The median age was 64 years (range 33–80). The median follow-up was 21.7 months (range 0.3–92.4). Forty (48%) patients had negative resection margins, 25 (30%) had an isolated positive circumferential margin and 18 (22%) had a positive surgical margin. The 5-year OS rates in patients with negative, isolated positive circumferential and positive surgical resection margins were 47%, 33% and 0%, respectively. Median OS was 45.6, 32.7 and 14.5 months, respectively (log rank, P = 0.011). Upon multivariable Cox regression analysis, resection margin status and lymph node status remained statistically significant (P < 0.05). No difference with respect to RFS and recurrence pattern was found between the groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Our data show that these three resection margin types were associated with different clinical outcomes. Circumferential margin status may therefore serve as a novel prognostic biomarker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical decision-making around the management of liver-limited stage IV colorectal cancer involves careful assessment of the potential risks and benefits of surgery. This balance can often be optimised through appropriate patient selection to ensure long-term benefit of any operation, with fastidious perioperative care to minimize risk.Methods: We reviewed selected relevant articles from the existing literature.Results: Multi-platform imaging is routinely used to determine distribution of disease and whether lesions are technically resectable, but what remains less clear is how to identify patients in whom resection is likely to deliver long-term benefits. A number of prognostic markers have been identified, with growing interest in direct assessment of tumour biology; genotyping of RAS status is routine in specific situations. Following a multidisciplinary team decision to proceed to surgery, patients undergo perioperative assessment and optimisation. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing helps to stratify perioperative risk: patients with low uptake of oxygen at the anaerobic threshold are known to have worse perioperative outcomes, and prehabilitation may offer the chance to reduce this risk. Intraoperative anaesthetic management is on a patient-by-patient basis but sub-normal hydration, epidural anaesthesia and steroids play a key role. Enhanced recovery after surgery programmes have improved perioperative outcomes while providing a potential economic benefit.Conclusion: Despite very good perioperative results, surgical management is not curative for the majority of patients, highlighting the need to further refine patient selection and definition of treatment aim on a patient-by-patient basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgical resection remains the only proven curative treatment for peri-hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Despite recent advances in liver surgery techniques and perioperative care, resection for peri-hilar cholangiocarcinoma remains associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Considerable variation in the perioperative management of these patients exists. Optimal perioperative management has the potential to deliver improved outcomes. This article seeks to summarize the evidence underpinning best practice in the perioperative care of patients undergoing resection of peri-hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The authors also seek to identify areas where research efforts and future clinical trials should be targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Activating mutations in KRAS have been suggested as potential predictive and prognostic biomarkers. However, the prognostic impact of specific point mutations remains less clear. This study assessed the prognostic impact of specific KRAS mutations on survival for patients with colorectal cancer.Methods: Retrospective review of patients KRAS typed for advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer between 2010 and 2015 in a UK Cancer Network.Results: We evaluated the impact of KRAS genotype in 392 patients. Mutated KRAS was detected in 42.9% of tumours. KRAS mutations were more common in moderate vs well-differentiated tumours. On multivariate analysis, primary tumour T stage (HR 2.77 (1.54-4.98), P=0.001), N stage (HR 1.51 (1.01-2.26), P=0.04), curative intent surgery (HR 0.51 (0.34-0.76), P=0.001), tumour grade (HR 0.44 (0.30-0.65), P=0.001) and KRAS mutation (1.54 (1.23-2.12), P=0.005) were all predictive of overall survival. Patients with KRAS codon 12 mutations had worse overall survival (HR 1.76 (95% CI 1.27-2.43), P=0.001). Among the five most common codon 12 mutations, only p.G12C (HR 2.21 (1.15-4.25), P=0.01) and p.G12V (HR 1.69 (1.08-2.62), P=0.02) were predictive of overall survival.Conclusions: For patients with colorectal cancer, p.G12C and p.G12V mutations in codon 12 were independently associated with worse overall survival after diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]