Luangyot Thongthieang¹, Piangpen Jongpairat¹, Parichat Phongthai¹

Background: Biliary tract cancer (BTC) has a poor treatment outcome and a high mortality rate because after curative resection, local and distant recurrences are frequent. The benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for overall survival (OS) is evident when compared with no AC treatment, but there is limited data on the comparison between AC and adjuvant chemoradiation (CCRT).

Objective: To assess the clinical outcomes of CCRT versus AC in patients with resected BTC. The end point was to determine the median overall survival time (mOS) and median recurrence-free survival time (mRFS) in the CCRT compared with the AC group.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on patients diagnosed with BTC who underwent curative resection and received CCRT or AC between January 2016 and December 2021at Khon Kaen Cancer Center, Khon Kaen Hospital.

Results: Fifty patients received CCRT and 80 received AC. The mRFS for the CCRT and AC groups were 15.0 and 10.0 months (p<0.011), respectively. The mOS for the CCRT and AC groups were 29.0 and 22.0 months (p<0.001), respectively. CCRT had a significantly better RFS and OS than did AC. Univariable analysis showed patterns of recurrences, and types of adjuvant treatments were independent prognostic factors on RFS and OS. Additionally, multivariable analysis showed that type of adjuvant treatment and recurrence status were statistically significant improvement in OS.

Conclusion: Adjuvant CCRT showed statistically significant benefits both RFS, and OS compared to AC in patients who underwent curative resection for BTC.

Received 28 January 2025 | Revised 4 March 2025 | Accepted 18 March 2025

DOI: 10.35755/jmedassocthai.2025.6.470-476-02471