New covered stent helpful in gastric outlet obstruction

Last Updated: 2015-10-08

By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - WAVE-covered self-expandable metallic stents (WCS) do better than previous models in palliation of malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), according to Korean researchers.

Dr. Sang Hyub Lee told Reuters Health by email that the device "was designed to overcome the tendency of early migration of previous covered self-expandable metallic stents."

"The stent body," Dr. Lee added, "is indented in the central portion and thus has a bumpy and wavy external appearance, providing mechanical resistance to migration. This stent has a lasso at the proximal end to facilitate repositioning after deployment."

For their study, Dr. Lee of Seoul National University College of Medicine and colleagues randomized 102 inoperable gastric cancer patients to receive either the WCS or an uncovered stent (UCS).

At eight weeks, results with the WCS were not significantly different from those in patients with the UCS, they report online September 15 in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

However, by 16 weeks stent patency rates were significantly higher with WCS (68.6% vs. 41.2%) and stent restenosis rates were significantly lower (7.1% vs. 37.8%). Re-intervention rates were lower in the WCS group (23.5% vs. 39.2%), but the difference was not significant.

Over a mean total follow-up duration of close to five months, the WCS group had a significantly longer cumulative duration of stent patency compared with the UCS group.

Overall patient survival without stent dysfunction was also longer in the WCS group than in the UCS group, with borderline statistical significance.

Given these findings, the researchers conclude that the WCS is a "promising stent option for the durable palliation of symptomatic GOO in patients with inoperable gastric cancer."

The study received no financial support and the researchers did not report any conflicts of interest. Standard Sci Tech provided the study stents.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1VGALgb

Am J Gastroenterol 2015.