Palliative Treatment of Malignant Gastric Outlet Obstruction: Stent versus Gastrojejunostomy

Palliative Treatment of Malignant Gastric Outlet Obstruction: Stent versus Gastrojejunostomy Malignant gastroduodenal obstruction occurs in up to 20% of patients with advanced tumor stages of primary pancreatic, duodenal, gastric or cholangiocarcinomas. This leads to a marked reduction in the quality of life in a group of patients who are already significantly compromised. Palliative treatment strategies could be surgical gastrojejunostomy or endoscopic placement of enteral self-expanding stents. There seems no significant difference between both strategies regarding success rates, morbidity or mortality. However, in patients with a relatively short life expectancy enteral stent placement seems a more rapid and cost-effective treatment option when compared with surgical treatment, resulting in a shorter time to symptomatic improvement and a shorter hospital stay.