Therapeutic biliary stents: applications and opportunities.

Introduction: Biliary stents are used to optimize ductal patency and enable bile flow in the management of obstruction or injury related to biliary tract tumors, strictures, stones, or leaks. Although direct therapeutic applications of biliary stents are less well developed, stents can be used to deliver drugs, radioisotopes, and photodynamic therapy.

Areas covered: This report provides an in-depth overview of the clinical indications, and therapeutic utility of biliary stents. Unique considerations for the design of biliary stents are described. The properties and functionalities of materials used for stents such as metal alloys, plastic polymers, or biodegradable materials are described, and opportunities for design of future stents are outlined. Current and potential applications of stents for therapeutic applications for biliary tract diseases are described.

Expert opinion: Therapeutic biliary stents could be used to minimize inflammation, prevent stricture formation, reduce infections, or provide localized anti-cancer therapy for biliary tract cancers. Stents could be transformed into therapeutic platforms using advanced materials, 3D printing, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Whilst clinical study and validation will be required for adoption, future advances in stent design and materials are expected to expand the use of therapeutic biliary stents for the treatment of biliary tract disorders.