The usefulness of endobiliary radiofrequency ablation before metal stent placement in unresectable malignant hilar obstruction

Background and aim: EB-RFA with self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) may improve the stent patency and patient survival in malignant extrahepatic biliary obstruction. However, there are few studies on the role of EB-RFA for malignant hilar obstruction (MHO). This study aimed to assess the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of EB-RFA for MHO.

Methods: We retrospectively compared the stent patency and survival among 79 consecutive patients with MHO who underwent bilateral uncovered SEMS placement without and with EB-RFA between April 2016 and January 2020.

Results: Fifty-one patients (64.6%) underwent SEMS placement alone (stent alone group), whereas 28 (35.4%) underwent SEMS placement after EB-RFA (RFA-stent group). All procedures were successful (100%). During follow-up, stent occlusion occurred in 59 patients (74.7%), of which 40 (78.4%) and 19 (67.9%) were in the stent alone and RFA-stent groups, respectively. There was no difference in stent patency (192 ± 39.2 days vs 140 ± 53.7 days, P = 0.41) and survival (311 ± 24.7 days vs 311 ± 46.9 days, P = 0.73) between the stent alone and RFA-stent groups. Multivariate cox analysis showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.892 (1.579-5.294, P = 0.001) for stent occlusion in patients who did not receive chemotherapy. EB-RFA had no significant effect on stent occlusion (HR, 1.150, 0.644-2.053, P = 0.636).

Conclusions: SEMS placement after EB-RFA in MHO was not associated with improvement in the stent patency or patient survival. Further prospective randomized studies are necessary to establish the effectiveness of EB-RFA with stents in MHO.