Impact of Vascular Resection on Survival and Postoperative Outcomes in Patients With Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma: A Retrospective Study

December 29, 2025 updated by: Yongjun Chen
Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is a highly aggressive malignancy, and surgical resection remains the only potentially curative treatment. Due to the frequent involvement of major vascular structures, vascular resection is increasingly performed to achieve negative surgical margins; however, its impact on survival and postoperative outcomes remains controversial. This retrospective study aims to evaluate the association between vascular resection and clinical outcomes, including survival and postoperative outcomes, in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma undergoing curative-intent surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
300

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population includes patients who underwent curative-intent surgery for hilar cholangiocarcinoma at the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of our hospital between January 2010 and December 2024. Patients were included regardless of whether vascular resection was performed. All patients had a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of hilar cholangiocarcinoma and sufficient clinical and follow-up data for outcome analysis. Patients with distant metastasis, those who underwent only palliative or exploratory surgery, or those with incomplete medical records or missing key clinical or follow-up information were excluded. According to intraoperative findings, patients were categorized into vascular resection and non-vascular resection cohorts.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of our hospital between January 2010 and December 2024, including those with or without concomitant vascular resection.
  • Pathologically confirmed diagnosis of hilar cholangiocarcinoma after surgery.
  • Complete clinical and follow-up data available for outcome analysis.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with distant metastasis or who underwent only palliative or exploratory surgery.
  • Patients diagnosed preoperatively or intraoperatively with other types of biliary malignancies not located at the hilar region.
  • Patients with incomplete medical records or missing key clinical or follow-up data.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Vascular Resection Group
Patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma who underwent curative-intent surgery with concomitant vascular resection, including portal vein and/or hepatic artery resection.
Other: No Intervention: Observational Cohort
This is an observational study. No intervention is assigned.
Non-Vascular Resection Group
Patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma who underwent curative-intent surgery without vascular resection.
Other: No Intervention: Observational Cohort
This is an observational study. No intervention is assigned.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative Complications Grade II or Higher (Clavien-Dindo ≥ II)
Time Frame: Within 30 days after surgery
Postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery will be assessed and classified according to the Clavien-Dindo classification system. Grade II or higher complications are defined as complications requiring pharmacological treatment, blood transfusion, interventional procedures, reoperation, intensive care management, or resulting in death.
Within 30 days after surgery
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: From surgery to death or last follow-up (up to 5 years)
Time from the date of curative-intent surgery to death from any cause or last follow-up. Patients who are alive at the last follow-up will be censored. Survival data will be collected from medical records and follow-up visits.
From surgery to death or last follow-up (up to 5 years)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perioperative Mortality
Time Frame: 30 days after surgery or during hospitalization
Death occurring within 30 days after surgery or during the index hospitalization, whichever occurs later.
30 days after surgery or during hospitalization
Length of Postoperative Hospital Stay
Time Frame: From the date of surgery to hospital discharge, assessed up to 90 days.
Number of days from the date of surgery to hospital discharge.
From the date of surgery to hospital discharge, assessed up to 90 days.
Intraoperative Blood Loss
Time Frame: During surgery
Estimated blood loss recorded in the operative report, measured in milliliters.
During surgery
Disease-Free Survival (DFS)
Time Frame: From surgery to tumor recurrence, metastasis, death, or last follow-up (up to 5 years)
Time from surgery to tumor recurrence, metastasis, death from any cause, or last follow-up, whichever occurs first.
From surgery to tumor recurrence, metastasis, death, or last follow-up (up to 5 years)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Yongjun Chen

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 16, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 29, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 31, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 31, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 29, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • BTC-002

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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