Trends in surgery and disparities in receipt of surgery for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in the US: 2005-2014.

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHC) is a malignancy with an increasing incidence. Surgery is the only treatment modality associated with long term survival. The objective of this study is to utilize a nationwide representative database to quantify the trends in incidence, and surgery for IHC in the United States from 2004-2014, as well as identify any disparities in the receipt of surgery.

Methods: All patients admitted with a diagnosis of IHC between 2005 and 2014 were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Trends in the number of IHC admissions and surgery procedures as well as outcomes were examined, and a multivariate analysis was used to determine the effects of demographic and clinical co-variables on resection rates.

Results: An estimated total of 104,045 IHC related admissions occurred between 2005 and 2014. The hospitalization rate for IHC increased by nearly 2-fold in 2014 [38.9 per 100,000 (95% CI, 35.7-42.2)] from 18.1 per 100,000 (95% CI, 15.8-20.3) in 2005. Liver resections increased 248% (P<0.01) with an increasing majority being performed at teaching hospitals and 56% being minor resections. There was an increase in estimated hospital charges from $87,124 to $148,613 (P<0.001) and decrease in LOS from 12 days to 10 days (P<0.01). Inpatient mortality for IHC decreased significantly from 11% to 8.4% (P=0.004), from year 2005 to 2014 respectively. Age >80 years (OR =0.45; 95% CI, 0.33-0.60), Black race (OR =0.50; 95% CI, 0.39-063), Hispanic race (OR =0.59; 95% CI, 0.45-0.79), Medicaid insurance (OR =0.58; 95% CI, 0.42-0.79) and Elixhauser comorbidity score >3 (OR =0.58; 95% CI, 0.47-0.73) were associated with decreased rates of resection.

Conclusions: Overall hospitalization and volume of surgery for IHC has increased dramatically over the past decade. There has been an increase in cost, decrease in LOS and inpatient mortality during the period. Socioeconomic and racial disparities were observed in the receipt of surgery for IHC. Additional work is needed to understand the complex interplay between socioeconomic status and race in in the treatment of IHC.