Comparison of different surgical interventions for hepatocellular carcinoma with bile duct tumor thrombus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background The optimal surgical modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) remains controversial, especially regarding deciding whether to perform concurrent bile duct resection (BDR). Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus databases were systematically searched from inception to February 2020, in order to compare overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates of HCC patients with BDTT who had either received hepatectomy with extrahepatic bile duct resection (BDR group) or hepatectomy without bile duct resection (NBDR group). Relevant outcomes were extracted by two investigators. Results A total of 12 studies involving 355 patients was included. The 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were similar in the BDR and NBDR groups (OR =0.58, 95% CI: 0.31-1.09, P=0.09; OR =0.74, 95% CI: 0.43-1.28, P=0.28; OR =0.63, 95% CI: 0.36-1.11, P=0.11, respectively). However, the BDR group had better 1-, 3- and 5-year RFS rates than the NBDR group (OR =0.38, 95% CI: 0.22-0.65, P<0.01; OR =0.40, 95% CI: 0.22-0.72, P<0.01; OR =0.37, 95% CI: 0.19-0.71, P<0.01, respectively). Conclusions Concomitant bile duct resection results in decreased postoperative recurrence in HCC patients with BDTT. However, the OS rates were similar whether or not patients underwent bile duct resection.