Preoperative serum CA19-9 levels is an independent prognostic factor in patients with resected hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

To investigate the appropriate cutoff point of CA19-9 for prognosis and other potential prognostic factors that may affect survival of patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HC) after radical surgery. 168 patients who had undergone radical surgery for hilar cholangiocarcinoma and resultant macroscopic curative resection (R0 and R1) were discreetly selected for analyses. Categorized versions were used in univariate model to determine the appropriate cutoff point of CA19-9. CA19-9 and other clinicopathologic factors were analyzed for influence on survival by univariate and multivariate methods. The strongest univariate predictor among the categorized preoperative CA19-9 measures was CA19-9 less than 150 IU/L (P = 0.000). In univariate analysis, tumor size, Bismuth-Corlette classification, portal vein invasion, Lymph node metastasis, resection margin and preoperative CA19-9 levels were identified as significant prognostic factors. In multivariable analysis, lymph node metastasis, resection margin and preoperative CA19-9 levels were independent prognostic factors. our results demonstrated that preoperative CA19-9 levels was also an independent prognostic factor for hilar cholangiocarcinoma, and the most discriminative cutoff point of CA19-9 for prognosis proved to be at 150 U/ml.