Objective  This study aims to assess the metastatic characteristics, different therapeutic methods, and prognostic factors of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).

  Methods  The clinical data of 103 ICC patients treated in our hospital from 1989 to 2009 were retrospectively analyzed, and 62 of them were successfully followed up. The SPSS l8.0 software package was used for the statistical analysis.

  Results  The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of the 103 patients were 66.1 %, 30.1 %, and 18.4 %, respectively. The median survival time was 20 months. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates for the curative resection group were 75.3 %, 48.2 %, and 33.9 %, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those of the palliative surgery and conservative treatment groups (P = 0.000). Based on the univariate analysis, tumor size, histological grade, number of tumors (solitary or multiple), vascular invasion, serosal invasion, lymphatic invasion, and surgical treatment were significantly related to overall survival. Moreover, the Cox multivariant survival analysis revealed that histological grade, vascular invasion, serosal invasion, lymphatic invasion, and surgical treatment were independent prognostic indicators.

  Conclusion  The rate of the lymph node metastasis of ICC is high, and intrahepatic relapse is one of the main causes of death. Thus, radical resection is the most effective treatment for ICC.