The usefulness of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (
PTBD) in the treatment of
obstructive jaundice caused by
metastases from nonbiliary and nonpancreatic
cancers was evaluated. Eighteen patients underwent
PTBD during a 3-year period. The primary
cancers were located in the stomach (nine cases), colon (four), lung (three), uterus (one), and breast (one). The causes of
obstructive jaundice and bile duct
strictures were investigated using both abdominal computed tomography and abdominal ultrasonography. The causes of
obstructive jaundice, the usefulness of
PTBD in terms of the relief of symptoms and laboratory data, survival after
PTBD, and the relationship between patient characteristics and survival were evaluated.
Obstructive jaundice was most often attributable to
metastases to the lymph nodes (17 of 18 cases). One case was attributed to
metastasis to the liver.
PTBD decreased the
jaundice and relieved the symptoms caused by biliary tract obstruction. Median survival after
PTBD was 59 days. Patients whose performance status was 2 or less survived longer than those with a performance status of 3 or more (P=0.018). Furthermore, patients aged less than 60 years tended to survive longer than those aged 60 or over (P=0.057). Our results suggest that
PTBD is useful for relief of symptoms caused by
obstructive jaundice in patients with nonbiliary and nonpancreatic
cancers.