Clinical usefulness of endoscopic palliation in patients with biliary obstruction caused by hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

A total of 111 jaundiced patients underwent attempted EBD for relief of HCC-related biliary stricture at our hospital over a 5-year period and all were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis.

RESULTS

After an endoscopic attempt at drainage, 46 (41.4%) of the 111 patients achieved a favorable response. Biliary cannulation failed in 5 patients. Child-Pugh class C, portal vein thrombosis and severe hyperbilirubinemia were negatively correlated with a favorable EBD response. In the ITT population, 40 (87.0%) of the favorable responders received further treatment for HCC, >2 (3.1%) of the unfavorable responders (p < 0.001). The median survival time for ITT patients with and without a favorable response to EBD was 8.7 and 1.3 months, respectively (p < 0.001). Cox's model showed that a favorable EBD response was an independent predictor of longer survival (hazard ratio 0.20, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

For HCC patients with tumor-related biliary obstruction, predictors of effective endoscopic palliation of cholestasis were relatively mild hyperbilirubinemia and preserved liver function and intact portal vein flow. A favorable EBD response was associated with longer survival outcomes.