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Abstract
Objective. Endoscopic stenting for malignant gastric outlet obstruction was chosen as the primary strategy by which to palliate this complication, which is dominated by weight loss and anorexia. Advanced upper gastrointestinal tract cancers present late and life expectancy is limited. Only smaller multicentre studies point to endoscopic stenting as superior to surgery in terms of clinical outcome and cost. Material and methods. Forty-five consecutive patients with gastric outlet obstruction as a result of advanced upper GI-tract malignancy were enrolled in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. All patients were offered endoscopic stenting. Oral intake before and after stenting was assessed using the gastric outlet obstruction score system (GOOSS). Various lengths of duodenal Hanaro® self-expanding nitinol stents were delivered through a therapeutic endoscope. Outcome criteria were successful deployment, clinical effect, length of stay in hospital, survival, need for re-intervention and complications. Results. Forty-one patients (91%) were successfully stented. The mean pre-procedure GOOSS improved significantly from 0.39 (95% CI 0.22–0.56) to 2.29 (95% CI 2.01–2.58) after stenting (p<0.0001). Twenty-six patients (63%) improved GOOSS at least one point, whereas 5 patients (12%) did not change GOOSS at all. Mean length of hospital stay was 13 days (95% CI 9–17 days). Mean survival was 121 days (95% CI 62–181 days). Two patients (4%; numbers 6 and 19) sustained perforation without fatalities. Three patients (7%) had stent migration. Procedure-related mortality was zero. Conclusions. Palliative stenting for advanced malignant upper GI-tract tumours at a tertiary Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Unit is a safe, feasible and effective alternative to surgical bypass with a short hospital stay and prompt improvement of food intake.