RETRACTED ARTICLE: Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage Improves Quality of Life in Advanced Gallbladder Cancer with Obstructive Jaundice: a Holistic Assessment.

Abstract

Advanced gallbladder cancers (GBC) with jaundice are mostly inoperable with poor outcomes. Palliation of jaundice by biliary drainage is the mainstay of treatment. This study aims to assess the improvement in quality of life (QOL) after PTBD in inoperable GBC with jaundice. We included 97 patients with advanced GBC and jaundice who underwent successful PTBD. Two validated hepatobiliary-specific QOL indices, namely European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life BIL21 (EORTC QLQ BIL21) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-HEP) version 4, were used. QOL scores were assessed at baseline and 1 and 3 months post-drainage. The changes in QOL indices between various time periods were objectively analyzed. Mean FACT-HEP overall scores improved from 69 ± 7.5 before intervention to 121 ± 11.4 at 1 month (p < 0.001) and 132.35 ± 12.0 at 3 months (p < 0.001). Physical and functional well-being domains of FACT-HEP showed maximum improvement at 1 month (p < 0.001). Mean EORTC QLQ BIL21 overall scores improved from 55.3 ± 6.8 1 at baseline to 35.0 ± 5.2 at 1 month (p < 0.001) and 28.5 ± 4.1 at 3 months (p < .001). Pain (p = 0.069) and anxiety symptoms (p = 0.09) did not show any significant change. In both scales, no significant improvements of scores were noted between 1 and 3 months. In advanced gallbladder cancer with jaundice, PTBD significantly enhances the quality of life, but this effect is short-lived, not beyond 1 month.