ENDOSCOPIC STENTING IN OBSTRUCTIVE-JAUNDICE DUE TO LIVER METASTASES -DOES IT HAVE A BENEFIT FOR THE PATIENT

Background/Aims: The describe our experience with the palliative endos copic treatment of jaundice occurring in the setting of liver and hila r metastases of a distant primary malignancy. Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical course of 29 consecutive patien ts with metastatic tumors not originating in the hepatobiliopancreatic area, who were treated by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogra phy with endoprostheses insertion. Results: We achieved a complete fol low-zip in 24 out of the 29 patients (11 women, median. age 69 years). The primary tumor site was the colorectum in 15 patients, stomach in 4, lung in. 2, breast and prostate in 1 and one patient had a lymphoma . The median bilirubinemia before therapy was 16 (1.8-31) mg/dl and th e median minimum serum bilirubin. reached after stenting was 2.6 (0.3- 11.5) mg/dl. Stent dysfunction was observed in 33.5 % of the patients and stent change was necessary 13 times. The median survival after the rapy was 4 (2.5-19) months for patients with colon tumors and 3 (0.5-1 2) months in patients with other cancers. An improvement in the qualit y of life was obtained in. 75 % of the patients after endoscopic treat ment. Conclusions: Endoscopic stenting should be attempted even on pat ients with obstructive jaundice due to liver metastases.