T wo types of tumor go under the name of cholangiocarcinoma. The first type is intrahepatic or peripheral cholangiocarcinoma, sometimes called cholangiocellular carcinoma. It is a primary tumor of the liver, occurring less frequently than the other type of primary hepatocellular cancer.The second is called bile duct, ductal, or proximal cholangiocarcinoma. When situated high in the extrahepatic biliary tract, the terms hilar cholangiocarcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma at the confluence of the bile duct, or Klatskin tumor are also used, and the position and extent of the tumor has led to a treatmentoriented classification. 1 Outcomes of treatment of the 2 types of tumor are different, and it would have avoided potential confusion to have used the term hilar cholangiocarcinoma at the outset. Clear distinctions of tumor location, type, and grade are essential to the selection of appropriate literature data for assessment of the results.In the report of de Vreede et al on neoadjuvant chemoirradiation and liver transplantation for cholangiocarcinoma, the tumors are essentially hilar carcinomas. They arise in a territory broader than that of Klatskin tumors, lying above the cystic duct in the upper part of the extrahepatic biliary tract and in the ascending parts of the right and left hepatic ducts.The prognosis for hilar cholangiocarcinoma is generally regarded as poor. The only treatment that can prolong survival is surgical, either by resection or liver transplantation.The major challenge in resection is the position of the tumor close to the hilus and the hepatic pedicle. In the past 2 decades, the number of patients who can be offered resection has been increased by extending the resection to include segments 1 and 4 and by performing right or left hepatectomy according to the principal tumor location. Lymph node curage and pancreaticoduodenectomy are also used.The results of resection are variable between series. Approximately 15% of the patients survive 5 years after surgery, although in 1 series a survival rate of 41% was noted. 2 The results of resection are also different according to type of the tumor; tumor, node, metastasis stage; and presence of tumor in the resection margins. 3 Surgery can result in cure for some patients, but this is relatively infrequent.The use of liver transplantation remains controversial. Usually it is advised to resect the tumor when it is resectable, generally the case in types I, II, and III. A type IV tumor, involving both sides of the confluence, is best resected by total hepatectomy and could be considered an indication for liver transplantation. 4 In our own series of patients with Klatskin tumors, 9 patients have undergone liver transplantation: 3 patients are alive and disease free at 3 years posttransplantation, and 4 patients died of recurrence. Septic complications arising from repeated and long-term stenting were the cause of early death in 2 other patients. In many published series of liver transplantation for malignancy, it is difficult to extract the cases of hilar chol...