Transarterial chemoembolization versus percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for recurrent unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Development of a prognostic nomogram

Background: Transarterial chemoembolization(TACE) and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy(PMCT) are commonly used to treat intrahepatic recurrent liver cancers. However, there is no information regarding their effectiveness in patients with recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(ICC) after resection. Methods: A total of 275 patients with localized recurrent ICC who received either TACE( n = 183) or PMCT( n = 92) were studied. A propensity score matching analysis was performed to compare prognostic impact of TACE and PMCT. Prognostic factors for TACE and PMCT were identified respectively. Predictive nomograms for each TACE and PMCT were developed using the Cox independent prognostic factors and were validated in independent patient groups by receiver operating characteristic curves and area under curve values. Results: Both TACE and PMCT provided curativeness in partial patients(5-year overall survival: 21.4% and 6.1%, respectively), but TACE provided better survival benefit in both overall patients(hazard ratio [HR] = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50–0.97; P = 0.034) and propensity score matching analysis(HR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.47–0.98; P = 0.041). Independent prognostic factors for TACE were tumor size > 5 cm, poor differentiation, and major resection, whereas poor differentiation, hepatitis B virus infection, cholelithiasis, and lymph node metastasis were identified for PMCT. Both predictive nomograms for TACE and PMCT were validated to be effective with area under curve values of 0.77 and 0.70, respectively. Conclusions: TACE provided better survival benefits compared to PMCT. However, there was a disparity in prognostic factors, suggesting evaluation of the two nomograms may be supportive in modality selection. Further prospective validation studies are required for the results to be applied in clinical medicine.