The efficacy of self-expanding metal stents for colorectal obstruction with unresectable stage IVB colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute colorectal obstruction with stage IVB colorectal cancer has a poor prognosis and short life expectancy. The effectiveness of self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) has been demonstrated in colorectal cancer patients with obstruction. However, little is known about the palliative efficacy of stent placement inpatients with unresectable colorectal cancer.

METHODOLOGY: The medical records of patients who received SEMS for stage IVB colorectal cancer with acute colorectal obstruction between March 2004 and July 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 24 patients with unresectable Stage IVB colorectal cancer with acute colorectal obstruction were enrolled in this study.

RESULTS

Twenty-four patients received SEMS placement during the study period. The mean age of the patients was 63.0 years (range 35-84 years). Fifteen patients were male and nine were female. The most common obstructive lesion was in the sigmoid colon (70.8%), including the sigmoid-descending and rectosigmoid junctions. Un-covered SEMS were used in 62.5% of patients. On the first attempt, the technical success rate of SEMS was 95.8%. The estimated duration of primary stent patency and overall survival periods after SEMS were 332.0 and 231.8 days, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

SEMS insertion may be a useful therapeutic choice for acute colorectal obstruction in patients with unresectable stage IVB colorectal cancer.