Cancer of the Common Hepatic Bile Ducts—Palliative Radiotherapy

Abstract

Four patients with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the common hepatic duct were treated with cobalt teletherapy. Two patients had 5-fluorouracil treatment and two underwent T-tube choledochostomy. Jaundice was alleviated in all patients. The duration of survival after surgery was 7 to 17 months. The two patients treated by radiotherapy alone had a survival time similar to that of the two treated by palliative surgery and radiotherapy. The potential value of postoperative radiotherapy for patients who have had a successful palliative bile drainage procedure was illustrated by the autopsy finding of local tumor control in one of the patients.