Comparative Study of Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Stent Placement with or without Iodine-125 Seeds for Treating Patients with Malignant Biliary Obstruction

Purpose

To prospectively evaluate safety and efficacy of biliary stent placement with iodine-125 (¹²⁵I) seeds in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice (MOJ).

Materials and Methods

From July 2011 to June 2014, 55 patients were enrolled (group A, 11 men and 17 women, mean age 70.93 y ± 8.58; group B, 14 men and 13 women, mean age 70.26 y ± 9.71). All patients were randomly assigned to placement of a biliary stent with ¹²⁵I seeds (group A) or biliary stent only (group B). After stent placement, outcomes were measured regarding relief of MOJ. Clinical success rate, survival time, and safety were recorded. P < .05 was considered to indicate significant difference.

Results

Stents were successfully placed in all 55 patients. MOJ was relieved in all patients, and there were no significant differences in complications related to stent insertion between the 2 groups. Mean and median stent patency were 191 days ± 19.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 152–230 d) and 179 days ± 191.4 (95% CI, 87–267 d) in group A and 88.3 days ± 16.3 (95% CI, 61–114 d) and 77 days ± 88.2 (95% CI, 65–86 d) in group B (P < .001, log-rank test). Mean and median survival time were 222.6 days ± 21.0 (95% CI, 181–263 d) and 241 days ± 18.2 (95% CI, 179–270 d) in group A and 139.1 days ± 14.5 (95% CI, 110–167 d) and 142 days ± 16.3 (95% CI, 83–177 d) in group B (P < .001, log-rank test).

Conclusions

¹²⁵I seeds combined with biliary stent placement could significantly improve stent patency. The procedure seems to be safe and to extend survival compared with self-expandable biliary stent placement.