A Randomized Controlled Trial for Preoperative Biliary Drainage With Metal Versus Plastic Stents in Patients With Periampullary Cancer

Jaundice is one of the most common symptoms in patients with periampullary cancers including pancreatic cancer, common bile duct (CBD) cancer, ampulla of Vater (AoV) cancer, and duodenal cancer. Traditionally, preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) was routinely performed in these cancers because it might favorably influence sepsis, endotoxemia, and intravascular coagulation. However, a recent randomized control study reported that routine PBD in patients undergoing surgery for cancer of the pancreatic head increases the rate of complications. Therefore, routine PBD was not recommended. However, PBD is still necessary in case of patients with cholangitis or very high level of bilirubin or patients who are expected to receive delayed surgery.

In these patients with necessity of PBD, a plastic stent (PS) has been used because it is good for temporary use with cheap prices. However, it is sometimes occluded before surgery or not enough for rapid decompressing jaundice mainly because of its short diameter. In this aspect, a self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) has strength compared to PS because it has a longer diameter which enables rapid decompression with a fewer events of occlusion. However, SEMS is much more expensive than PS and the exact length of stent is more critical.

Although there are still lack of evidence which compares the results between PS and SEMS, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recently recommended the use of a short SEMS for pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with cholangitis or fever. However, we needed more concrete evidence about this principle.