Introduction

Anecdotally, the prognosis of dogs with bile duct carcinoma is believed to be poor, although few studies have been conducted to evaluate the outcomes of dogs with bile duct carcinoma following surgery because many cases involve metastases at initial presentation. The objective of this study was to describe the prognosis of dogs with localized massive or nodular bile duct carcinoma following surgery.

Methods

Medical records of seven dogs with massive or nodular bile duct carcinoma that underwent surgery between March 2011 and April 2019 were reviewed. None of the dogs had metastasis at first presentation. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was generated for all dogs.

Results

Surgery was performed by partial lobectomy and complete lobectomy in six dogs and one dog, respectively. All tumors were histopathologically confirmed as completely resected. Four dogs underwent surgery alone, and three dogs were treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Local recurrence or distant metastasis was detected in one dog. The median overall survival time was 894 days (range: 77–1386 days) with a one-year survival rate of 86% (95% confidence interval: 33–98%). The median progression-free survival time was 446 days.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that surgery provides good prognosis for massive or nodular bile duct carcinoma if the tumors are localized in the liver. Based on the present study, further investigation is needed to determine the prognostic factors.

Funding Information

There are no funders to report for this submission.