Surgical intervention for malignant bowel obstruction caused by gastrointestinal malignancies

BACKGROUND Malignant bowel obstruction(MBO)is a common event for end-stage gastrointestinal cancer patients.Previous studies had demonstrated manifestations and clinical management of MBO with mixed malignancies.There still lack reports of the surgical treatment of MBO.AIM To analyze the short-term outcomes and prognosis of palliative surgery for MBO caused by gastrointestinal cancer.METHODS A retrospective chart review of 61 patients received palliative surgery between January 2016 to October 2018 was performed,of which 31 patients underwent massive debulking surgery(MDS)and 30 underwent ostomy/by-pass surgery(OBS).The 60-d symptom palliation rate,30-d morbidity and mortality,and overall survival rates were compared between the two groups.RESULTS The overall symptom palliation rate was 75.4%(46/61);patients in the MDS group had significantly higher symptom palliation rate than OBS group(90%vs 61.2%,P=0.016).Patients with colorectal cancer who were in the MDS group showed significantly higher symptom improvement rates compared to the OBS group(overall,76.4%;MDS,61.5%;OBS,92%;P=0.019).However,patients with gastric cancer did not show a significant difference in symptom palliation rate between the MDS and OBS groups(OBS,60%;MDS,80%;P=1.0).The median survival time in the MDS group was significantly longer than in the OBS group(10.9 mo vs 5.3 mo,P=0.05).CONCLUSION For patients with MBO caused by peritoneal metastatic colorectal cancer,MDS can improve symptom palliation rates and prolong survival,without increasing mortality and morbidity rates.

Clinical observation of continuously subcutaneous-pumped octreotide infusion in palliative treatment of malignant bowel obstruction

Objective： The aim of the study was to observe the effectiveness of continuously subcutaneous-pumped octreotide infusion in palliative treatment of malignant bowel obstruction （MBO）. Methods： Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed in 26 carcinoma patients complicated with MBO, in the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China, from March 2007 to April 2009. All 26 carcinoma patients with MBO were divided into no groups： the controlling group （CG, routine therapy, 15 patients） and the octreotide group （OG, 11 patients）. The octreotide group received routine therapy combined with octreotide （0.3 mg/d） by 24 hours continuously subcutaneous octreotide infusion. The changes of curative effectiveness related to symptoms, the times of recovering exsufflation and defecation, the average drain of gastrointestinal drainage tube, the duration of gastrointestinal drainage tube and the rate of extubation, were observed and compared between the two groups. Results： After treatment, remarkable changing rates of MBO related symptoms were 81.8% （9/11） in OG, and 46.7% （7/15） in CG （P 〈 0.05）. The 78% of SG and 30% of CG recovered the exsufflation and defecation, and the mean times they needed were 3.2 d and 5.8 d, respectively （P 〈 0.05）. The durations of gastrointestinal drainage tube of OG and CG were （5 ± 1.2） d and （10 ±2.3） d, respectively, and the rates of extubation were 54.5% and 20%, respectively. The improvement rate in the octreotide group was better than that in the controlling group and the difference was significant （72.7% and 26.7%, P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion; The administration of octreotide in combination with routine treatment can be very effective in the treatment of MBO. It can relieve the symptoms of MBO effectively and improve the quality of life of the end-stage patients. It has provided one kind of new treating thought and method for treatment of malignant bowel obstruction.

Comparable results of surgical versus non-surgical management for patients with malignant bowel obstruction-a lesson from S1316 study

We had the pleasure to read the paper published online by Krouse et al.in August 2023 in the Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology(1).The study labeled as S1316 was a prospective pragmatic comparative effectiveness trial evaluating the surgical versus non-surgical management for patients with malignant small intestinal bowel obstruction(MIO)and having an intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal primary cancer and were aged 18 years or older with a Zubrod performance status 0-2 within 1 week before admission;had a surgical indication;and treatment equipoise.The patients were divided in two pathways.Those who accepted the randomization were randomly assigned to surgical and non-surgical treatment groups.Those who declined consent for random assignment were offered a prospective observational patient choice pathway where the patients with their caring team decide upon the treatment option.

Safety and efficacy of self-expandable metallic stents in malignant small bowel obstructions

In this report, we present 3 cases of malignant small bowel obstruction, treated with palliative care using endoscopic self-expandable metallic stent(SEMS) placement, with the aim to identify the safety and efficacy of this procedure. Baseline patient characteristics, procedure methods, procedure time, technical and clinical success rates, complications, and patient outcomes were obtained. All 3 patients had pancreatic cancer with small bowel strictures. One patient received the SEMS using colonoscopy, while the other 2 patients received SEMS placement via double balloon endoscopy using the through-the-overtube technique. The median procedure time was 104 min. The technical and clinical success rates were 100%. Post-treatment, obstructive symptoms in all patients improved, and a low-residue diet could be tolerated. All stents remained within the patients until their deaths. The median overall survival time(stent patency time) was 76 d. SEMS placement is safe and effective as a palliative treatment for malignant small bowel obstruction.