Extrahepatic obstructive jaundice due to colorectal cancer.

A prospective registry of patients with obstructive jaundice referred for percutaneous bile duct drainage found six patients with extrahepatic obstruction due to colorectal cancer in a 21-month period. This cause of jaundice in patients with colorectal cancer is not uncommon, and deserves routine diagnostic consideration, even in the presence of intrahepatic metastases. Percutaneous biliary drainage was beneficial for four of the six patients.