A nationwide population-based study shows increasing incidence of cholangiocarcinoma

Purpose: An increasing incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has been reported in Western countries, but evidence is lacking in Asia. We investigated the incidence of CCA in a nationwide cohort.

Patients and methods: We conducted a nationwide cohort study based on data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 1998 and 2008. A total of 6,491 CCA patients were recruited. Adjusted incidences, cumulative incidences, and stratified analyses were used to detect trends regarding CCA incidence in Taiwan.

Results: The incidence of CCA increased by 2.01-fold, from 1.79 in 1998 to 3.60 in 2008 per 100,000 persons. For extrahepatic CCA, the incidence increased by 1.5-fold from 0.48 to 0.73 per 100,000. Intrahepatic CCA increased by 3.0-fold from 0.72 to 2.19 per 100,000. The rising incidence of CCA was observed across all sexes and ages, especially in those older than 65 years of age. The proportion of CCA patients who underwent surgery and the overall survival rates remained stable.

Conclusions: The incidence of both intrahepatic and extrahepatic CCA increased significantly between 1998 and 2008. Rising trends were observed among different ages and sexes, especially in the elderly population.