We experienced 20 patients with distal bile duct carcinoma from May, 1997 to December, 2007. The male/female ratio was 11/9 and the average age was 69.6 years. The operative procedures were as follows : pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), 9 ; pyrolus preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD), 8 ; subtotal stomach preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (SSPPD), 2 and hepatico-jejunostomy without resection, 1. We performed a clinicopathological study on 16 patients with distal bile duct carcinoma, excluding 3 operation-related deaths and 1 unresectable case. The cumulative survival rate was 70％ at 3 years and 11％ at 5 years. The 3-year survival rates at fStageII, fStageIVa and fStageIVb were 100％, 80％ and 0％, respectively. Log-rank analysis revealed that pathological pancreatic and duodenal invasion and curative resectability may be prognostic factors, while lymph node metastasis and perineural and stump invasion did not affect prognosis. Six recurrences in the 11 curative resection cases (54.5％) were observed ; therefore, postoperative systemic chemotherapy is warranted to curtail recurrence in advanced distal bile duct carcinoma.
