How to grade intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is often graded using the AJCC grading method, which is based on the condition of the primary tumor in the liver, whether there are metastases in the lymph nodes and whether there are distant metastases. According to the early and late stage of the disease, it is divided into four grades. Grade IV is a more advanced stage, which is further divided into ⅣA and ⅣB, and stage ⅣB is more advanced, and lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis is attributed to stage ⅣB. The more advanced the stage, the worse the treatment effect and the scope of surgery. For example, for stage I tumor, if it does not invade the blood vessels in the liver, local excision is sufficient, but if it invades the important liver blood vessels, extensive liver resection is required to remove the lesion, which greatly increases the difficulty, trauma and risk of surgery.