Radiation therapy of carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts.

Carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts was treated in 25 patients by radiation therapy between 1974 and 1981. Seventeen patients were men and eight were women, and the average age was 59.2 years. Cobalt-60 beam or 10 MV x ray was used for radiation therapy, with the total dose ranging from 10 Gy to 60 Gy. Twenty-one patients received 40 Gy or more. Twenty-two patients underwent surgical procedures such as percutaneous transhepatic drainage or T-tube drainage before radiation therapy. Total bilirubin level decreased after radiation therapy in 21 patients. Side effects included loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, general fatigue, and duodenal ulcer. The mean survival of all patients was 9.2 months after completion of radiation therapy. The longest survival has been for 6.5 years, and the patient is alive and well as of this writing. Radiation therapy proved effective in treatment of carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts in terms of palliation and prognosis.