[Two cases of obstructive jaundice due to advanced gastric cancer with marked response to the intravenous administration of cisplatinum].

Two cases of obstructive jaundice due to advanced gastric cancer were treated with intravenous administration of cisplatinum. The first case was a 46-year-old female who had undergone gastrojejunostomy 5 months earlier because of Borrmann type 3 gastric cancer. The tumor involved the head of the pancreas and a portion of the duodenum with distant intraperitoneal dissemination (S3N3P3H0). She was admitted to Shimodate Municipal Hospital on June 8 because of abdominal pain and jaundice. Her abdomen was distended with ascites, and there was a fist-sized tumor in the lower portion. CT examination revealed that the jaundice was caused by obstruction due to the main tumor. Histologically, the tumor consisted of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Intravenous administration of CDDP (50 mg/body/week X 4), MMC (4 mg/body/week X 4) and FT (400 mg/body/day for 4 weeks) was carried out. After the chemotherapy, the jaundice, abdominal pain and ascites disappeared, and the abdominal tumor had markedly reduced in size which was regarded as PR. The second case was 66-year-old male who had received subtotal gastrectomy and transverse colectomy 16 months ago because of Borrmann type 3 gastric cancer. The tumor comprised well-differentiated adenocarcinoma and infiltrated to the mesentery of the transverse colon with positive lymphnodes (S3N1P1H0, stage IV). This time he was admitted to the hospital because of general fatigue and jaundice. According to CT examination, the common bile duct was obstructed by metastasized lymphnode around the pancreas. He had elevated serum level of total bilirubin (7.7 mg/gl) and CA 19-9 (23,000 U/ml). After the administration of CDDP (50 mg/body/week X 4) and MMC (4 mg/body/week X 4), his complaints disappeared and the serum total bilirubin level and CA 19-9 level returned within normal range. These data suggest that combination chemotherapy using CDDP was effective in these 2 cases.