Background/aims: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a diagnostic and therapeutic approach adopted in 118 consecutive patients affected by primary malignancy of the extrahepatic bile duct.
Methodology: After diagnostic procedures were performed (ultrasound examination, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and computed tomography scan) 25 patients underwent surgical resection. For the remaining 93 patients considered unresectable for cure, stenting by endoscopic means was almost always the only palliative treatment performed.
Results: The morbidity and mortality rates were 28% and 8% for patients treated with surgical resection and the curative and overall 3-year survival rate was 30% and 22% respectively. The procedure related morbidity and mortality rates were 13% and 4% for patients endoscopically treated and the median survival rate was 7.3 months. The quality of life evaluated in 68 patients out of 93 was good in 57% of cases, fair in 19% and poor in the remaining 22%.
Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic stenting in the palliative treatment of extrahepatic bile duct cancer while potential cure can only be achieved by radical surgical resection.