Safety of biliary stent placement followed by definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer with bile duct obstruction

BackgroundAlthough patients with malignant bile duct obstruction due to pancreatic cancer are often initially treated with biliary stent placement, concurrent chemoradiotherapy with stents poses a potential risk of increased toxicity. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the safety of biliary stent placement followed by definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer.MethodsPatients with pancreatic cancer who underwent either a plastic stent or a self-expanding metallic stent placement for malignant bile duct obstruction before definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Radiotherapy was delivered in 1.8 Gy per fraction to a total dose of 50.4 Gy. Gemcitabine, TS-1 plus Gemcitabine, or TS-1 was the concurrent chemotherapy/regimen. The primary endpoint was the rate of biliary stent-related toxicities, defined as biliary bleeding, duodenal perforation, or bile duct perforation.ResultsThirty patients were included. Plastic stents were placed in 23 patients and self-expanding metallic stent in seven patients at the start of irradiation. The median follow-up time was 20 (range, 2–63) months, and 27 patients (90%) completed concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Biliary stent-related toxicity (grade 3 biliary bleeding) was confirmed in one patient (3%) with a plastic stent 9 months after concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The median duration of locoregional control, progression-free survival, and overall survival were 31.1, 7.3, and 10.5 months, respectively.ConclusionsStent placement followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy was not associated with an apparent increase in toxicity and may be an appropriate treatment for patients with locally advanced pancreatic head cancer with bile duct obstruction.