Effectiveness of percutaneous metal stent placement in cholangiocarcinoma patients with midterm follow-up: Single center experience

Purpose: Patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma present with high rate of local complications. The primary aim of this study is to report clinical course of advanced cholangiocarcinoma patients those who were presented with biliary obstruction and treated with percutaneous biliary stenting. Material and methods: Patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma followed by our center for a period of 4 years were analyzed. For statistical analysis demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, primary biliary drainage method, metal stent occlusion rate, time to stent occlusion, and overall survival rates were recorded. Results: A total of 34 eligible patients were analyzed. 27 patients had metal stent placement. These 27 patients formed the basis of this study. Median overall survival (OS) was 6.0 months. After metal stent deployment bilurubin levels were normalized within a mean of 10 days. During the follow-up period, 13 patients were experienced metal stent occlusion. Median TtSO was 10 weeks. Cytotoxic chemotherapy was administered to 14 (52%) patients. Patients without stent dysfunction had significantly higher rate of chemotherapy exposure rate (p = 0.021). Statistical analysis, however, failed to exhibit significant effect of stent dysfunction on OS. Conclusion: In advanced cholangiocarcinoma, relief of bile duct obstruction is an important part of the initial patient management. This study therefore described the clinical value of percutaneous metal stent in cholangiocarcinoma patients and raises the question about patency of metal stent in cholangiocarcinoma whether we can expect success similar to the success achieved in pancreas carcinoma.