Stents or open operation for palliation of colorectal cancer: a retrospective, cohort study of perioperative outcome and long-term survival.

Purpose: Expandable, metallic stents provide a new modality of palliation for patients with noncurable metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma. This study was designed to compare the use of expandable metallic stents as a palliative measure to traditional open surgical management, with particular reference to length of stay, and survival.

Methods: Patients admitted between 1997 and 2002 with left-sided (splenic flexure and distal), colorectal adenocarcinoma and nonresectable metastatic disease (Stage 4) were treated with expandable metal stents or open surgery (resection, bypass, or stoma). The group of patients having stents inserted were compared with regard to perioperative outcome and survival to those having open surgical procedures.

Results: Twenty-two of 25 patients had colonic stents successfully inserted and 19 patients underwent open surgery. The two groups were comparable: stent: median age, 66 (range, 37-88) years; 13 males; and open operation: median age, 68 (range, 51-85) years; 12 males. The tumors were primary in 22 stents procedures and 18 open operations. The site of obstruction was: splenic flexure, 2 stent vs. 0 open operation; descending colon, 2 stent vs. 2 open operation; sigmoid colon, 12 stent vs. 6 open operation; rectum, 9 stent vs. 11 open operation. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class was: ASA 1, 0 stent vs. 0 open operation; ASA 2, 6 stent vs. 9 open operation; ASA 3, 15 stent vs. 7 open operation; ASA 4, 4 stent vs. 3 open operation. The open operations were laparotomy only (n = 2), bypass (n = 1), stoma (n = 7), resection with anastomosis (n = 4), resection without anastomosis (n = 5). The complications after open operation were urinary (n = 2), stroke (n = 1), cardiac (n = 2), respiratory (n = 2), deep vein thrombosis (n = 1), anastomotic leak (n = 1). There were no stent-related complications. The mean length of stay was significantly shorter in the stent group (4 vs. 10.4 days; P < 0.0001). There was no difference in survival between the two groups (median survival: stent group, 7.5 months; open operation, 3.9 months; log-rank P value = 0.2156).

Conclusions: Patients treated with stents are discharged earlier than after open surgery. Stents do not affect survival. Expandable metal stents provide an acceptable alternative and may be better than traditional open surgical techniques.