Self-expandable metal stent placement for recurrent cancer in a surgically-altered stomach

Abstract

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies and most frequent causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Radical surgical resection ac- complished by total or distal gastrectomy represents the mainstay of curative treatment for gastric cancer; however, recurrent cancer still occurs in a significant amount of cases. Patients with recurrent cancer are generally incurable and often experience debilitating symptoms, such as nausea, vom - iting, dysphagia, dehydration, and malnutrition, because of malignant gastric-outlet, duodenal, and jejunal obstructions. Consequently, such patients experience progressive deterioration of quality of life. If bypass surgery has not already been performed, it is not usually appropriated in the context of recurrent cancer and is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Endoscopic or fluoroscopic self-expandable metal stent placement represents an effective and safe method for palliative treatment of recurrent cancer in patients with the surgically-altered stomach. Therefore, it should be considered as the first-line option. Importantly, accurate knowledge of the surgically-altered anatomy and stricture location are critical to achieve successful treatment outcomes. Copyright reserved.