Carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts: results of an aggressive surgical approach.

Ninety patients with adenocarcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts were treated between 1969 and 1984. Fifty-four tumors involved the upper third, 15 the middle third, and 21 the lower third of the common duct. Twenty-two patients had gallstones and five had inflammatory bowel disease. Forty-three patients had operations before definitive treatment; the diagnosis was made in only 18. Resection was accomplished in 30 patients (33%): 12 of 54 in the proximal third, six of 15 in the middle third, and 12 of 21 in the distal third. The mean survival in patients who underwent resection was 32 months (proximal third, 28 months; middle third, 32 months; lower third, 37 months). Surgical bypass was performed in 28 patients (mean survival 10 months) and intubation alone was performed in 24 patients (mean survival 8 months). Recurrent cholangitis occurred in 56% of intubated patients compared with 26% of patients treated without tubes. Radiation was used with resection and for palliation. Responses were observed, but the complication of radiation duodenitis has limited the dose. An aggressive approach to resection of bile duct tumors is possible with a low operative mortality rate and offers the best opportunity for cure as well as good palliation. Internal bypass is preferable to chronic intubation. The role of radiation therapy in this disease is still not clear.