Cholangiocarcinoma Following Bariatric Surgery: a Prospective Follow-Up Single-Center Audit

Background Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) incidence is rising worldwide. Obesity and its related metabolic impairments are associated with primitive liver malignancies including CC. While bariatric surgery (BS) is associated with decreased risk of incident cancer, few data are available regarding CC incidence, presentation, and management issues after BS. Methods We retrospectively reviewed collected data on 1911 consecutive patients undergoing BS from 2010 to 2019. Results We recorded three cases (0.16%) of CC during the postoperative follow-up. All cases underwent a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) for class III obesity with metabolic diseases (i.e., type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obstructive sleep apnea) without any personal or familial history of biliary disease. The patients presented with an inaugural jaundice or pruritus at 8, 12, and 13 months after RYBG, which enabled the diagnosis of metastatic CCs in all cases. In such palliative setting without access to the pancreato-biliary system, biliary drainage was ensured by a percutaneous trans-hepatic biliary drain. Chemotherapy was initiated in two patients. All the patients died within a delay of 2, 11, and 17 months after the diagnosis, respectively. Conclusion The incidence of post-BS CC appears low, but the prognosis is poor because of advanced stages at diagnosis. These cases illustrate the difficulty to make both on-time diagnosis and optimal management of CC especially in patients operated of RYGB with limited access to the excluded anatomy.