Abstract: Objective Lymph node（LN） metastasis is a major negative predictive factor for hilar cholangiocarcinom （HC）. Whether clearance of abdominal aortic LN can influence progression free survival （PFS） and overall survival （OS） in Bismuth type I and II HC has not been well evaluated. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the data of 72 patients with Bismuth type I and II HC admitted to our hospital undergoing surgical resection with curative intent between 2005 and 2009. Results Compared to 37 HC patients without clearance of abdominal aortic LN,35 patients with clearance of abdominal aortic LN demonstrated a significantly lower 1,2 and 3 a tumor recurrence rate（22.9%,40.1% and 65.7% vs. 45.9%,62.2% and 91.9%,respectively,P<0.05）;PFS were 65.7%,40.0% and 17.1,and OS were 74.3%,60.0% and 31.4%,both much higher than in patients without clearance of abdominal aortic LN（35.1%,16.2% and 2.7%,and 59.5%,40.5% and 13.5%,respectively,all P<0.05）. Conclusions Clearance of abdominal aortic LN could reduce the recurrence of tumor and improve PFS and OS in patients with type I and II HC after surgical operation.

Key words: Type I and II hilar cholangiocarcinoma, Clearance of abdominal aortic lymph nodes, Survival rates