RESUMO
Background and purpose:The morbidity of the elderly patients with hepatic portal cholangiocarcinoma is rising. Due to the characteristics of pathology,physiology and anatomy of the disease, most of the patients with cancer are not resectable, the main treatment consists of the diverting drainage and postoperative chemoradiation.We studied the clinical features and the effective therapeutic method for the elderly patients with hepatic portal cholangiocarcinoma. Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed in 28 cases of the elderly patients with hepatic portal cholangiocarcinoma who were treated between January 1995 and December 2005 in our hospital.Results:3 cases received surgery, 2 of them survived for over three years, another 3 cases were given operative exploration with 14 months of medium survival time. 22 cases were given internal or external drainage and received radiotherapy after operation, their survival time ranged from 5 months to 40 months.Conclusions:Surgery is the primary therapeutic method for elderly patients with hepatic portal cholangiocarcinoma. Internal or external drainage and radiotherapy could prolong survival time of the patients with unresectabke disease.