Endoscopic stenting in bile duct cancer increases liver volume

Background Objective evaluation tools for assessing the effectiveness of stenting in palliative treatment of malignant biliary obstruction are not satisfactory. Effects of biliary stenting on liver volume change have never been studied. Objective We aimed to use volumetry to analyze liver volume changes after endoscopic stenting in bile duct cancer according to the location and number of stents. Design Retrospective review. Setting University hospital. Patients Patients with a diagnosis of hilar or distal bile duct cancer and who underwent biliary metal stenting. Interventions ERCP with self-expandable metal stent placement. Main Outcome Measurements Liver volume change after biliary stenting and its comparison according to the location (hilar vs distal common bile duct) and number (hilar bilateral vs hilar unilateral). Results There were 60 patients; 31 were treated for hilar bile duct cancer (13 for bilateral stent and 18 for unilateral stent) and 29 for distal bile duct cancer. Overall mean follow-up duration was 11.7 ± 4.9 weeks. Liver volume increased 17.4 ± 24.1%. The rate of liver growth was rapid during the early period from 4 to 8 weeks. Stenting in hilar bile duct cancer tended to increase liver volume more than distal biliary stents (22.5% vs 11.9%, P =.091). In hilar bile duct cancer, unilateral and bilateral stents showed similar liver volume increases (20.1% and 25.8%, respectively; P =.512). Limitations Single center, retrospective. Conclusions Biliary stenting markedly increased liver volume in both hilar and distal bile duct cancer. Our data suggest that liver volume assessment could be a useful tool for evaluating stent efficacy.