To investigate the clinical effect of new double ¹²⁵I chain biliary drainage tube and biliary stent for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma with obstructive jaundice under fluoroscopic monitoring.

Nine patients with cholangiocarcinoma complicated with obstructive jaundice were treated with ¹²⁵I seed double strand biliary drainage tube and biliary stent under fluoroscopic monitoring. The technical success rate, operation time and complications were recorded. The local cumulative irradiation dose was calculated by treatment plan system (TPS). The 2-, 4- and 6-month of biliary stent patency and overall survival were observed. The white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), albumin, CA19-9 and the maximum diameter of tumor were compared before and 2-month later.

All cases underwent double ¹²⁵I chain drainage tube and stent successfully, which means 100% technical success rate. 2 cases (22.2%) had a small amount of bile duct bleeding without bile duct perforation, peritonitis, pancreatitis, massive bleeding and other serious complications. The average local cumulative dose was 76.3 Gy, 2-, 4-, 6-month stent patency rate were 100%, 88.9%, 66.7%, respectively. During the median follow-up of 8.5 months, 1 patient died and the rest cases survived. ALT, AST, TB, DB,CA19-9, tumor maximum diameter decreased significantly (P < 0.05), while WBC, RBC and albumin showed no significantly changes comparing with that of 2-month later (P > 0.05).

It is safe and feasible to treat cholangiocarcinoma with obstructive jaundice by the combination of double ¹²⁵I chain and biliary stent, which can achieve the dual effects of bile drainage and brachytherapy. The short-term effect is satisfactory, and the long-term effect needs further observation.