Adjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy in patients with cholangiocarcinoma after radical resection

Abstract

Background

The malignancy of cholangiocarcinoma is highly pronounced, and it exhibits a propensity for recurrence and metastasis even in the presence of standard chemotherapy. The efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy in patients with resected cholangiocarcinoma needs to be substantiated.

Methods

Data from 101 patients with cholangiocarcinoma treated at the Sun Yat‐sen University Cancer Center between 2015 and 2020 were studied.

Results

After propensity score matching, there were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between patients in the combined adjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy group (AC + IM group) and the adjuvant chemotherapy alone group (AC group) (all p > 0.05). The AC + IM group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in relapse‐free survival (RFS) compared to the AC group ( p = 0.032). Likewise, the AC + IM group exhibited a significantly superior overall survival (OS) outcome when compared to the AC group ( p = 0.044). Multivariate Cox analysis unveiled perineural invasion ( p = 0.041), lymph node metastasis ( p = 0.006), and postoperative immunotherapy ( p = 0.008) as independent prognostic factors exerting a significant impact on the OS of patients. In the cohort of patients with perineural invasion, the AC + IM group exhibited significantly improved OS compared to the AC group ( p = 0.0077). Similarly, within the subset of patients with lymph node metastasis, the AC + IM group exhibited a significantly superior OS outcome when compared to the AC group ( p = 0.023).

Conclusion

Combining postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with immunotherapy extends the RFS and OS of patients with cholangiocarcinoma following radical resection.