Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Patientswith Unresectable Cholangiocarcinoma in Thailand: Are thereDifferences Dependent on Stent Type?

Abstract

Cholangiocarcinoma, though very rare in Western countries, is one of the commonest liver malignancies inSoutheast Asia, especially in Thailand. More than half of the patients present with advanced stage disease. Giventhe poor treatment outcomes of adjuvant therapeutic options, many patients undergo only biliary drainage forpalliative treatment. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes after biliary stenting were here analyzedfor a total of 224 uresectable cholangiocarcinoma cases, 58.9% in men. The mean age was 61.5 years. Hilarinvolvement was the most common location. The patients underwent biliary drainage using plastic and metallicstents equally, early stent occlusion being encountered in 21.4% and 10.7%, respectively. The median survivaltime was 4.93 months for patients who received plastic and 5.87 months for patients who received metallic stents.

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