Palliative self-expandable metal stents for acute malignant colorectal obstruction: clinical outcomes and risk factors for complications

Abstract

Objective. Self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) have been used as palliative treatment or bridge to surgery for obstructions caused by colorectal cancer (CRC). We assessed the long-term outcomes of palliative SEMSs and evaluated the risk factors influencing complications. Materials and methods. One hundred and seventy-five patients underwent SEMS placement for acute malignant colorectal obstruction. Of the 72 patients who underwent palliative treatment for primary CRC, 30 patients received chemotherapy (CT) for primary cancer (CT group) and 42 underwent best supportive treatment (BST) without CT (BST group). Results. There was a significant difference in late migration between the CT group and the BST group (20.0% in CT group, 2.4% in BST group, p = 0.018). Response to CT influenced the rate of late obstruction (0% in disease control, 35.7% in disease progression, p = 0.014). However, late obstruction was not associated with stent properties, such as diameter or type (≤22 mm vs. >22 mm, 13.5% vs. 14.3%, p = 1.00; uncovered stent vs. covered stent, 15.5% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.675) and migration (≤22 mm vs. >22 mm, 16.2% vs. 2.9%, p = 0.108; uncovered stent vs. covered stent, 8.6% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.615) in palliative SEMS. Conclusion. The administration of CT increases the rate of stent migration, and disease control by CT can reduce the risk of obstruction by maintaining the luminal patency of palliative SEMSs.