Colon metal stents as a bridge to surgery had no significant effects on the perineural invasion: a retrospective study

PURPOSE: The long-term oncological effects of self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) as a “bridge to surgery” are contradictory, and perineural invasion was supposed to be enhanced by the stenting. In this retrospective study, we compared the perineural invasion and the oncological outcomes between the stent as a bridge to surgery (SBTS)- and emergency surgery (ES)-treated patients to evaluate the results of stenting on the perineural invasion. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with acute intestinal obstruction caused by colorectal cancer from January 2013 to January 2017 were retrospectively collected. Forty-three patients underwent semi-elective curative resection after endoscopic SEMS insertion, and sixty-three underwent ES. The adverse events and long-term follow-up outcomes were assessed. The clinicopathological characteristics, perineural invasion rates, and survival rates were compared between the two patient groups. RESULTS: Stent insertion resulted in significantly lower stoma rate (32.6% vs 46%; P = 0.03), post-operative overall complication rate (11.6% vs 28.6%, P = 0.038), and total hospital stay (17.07 ± 5.544 days vs 20.48 ± 7.372 days, P = 0.042). Compared with the ES group, there was no significant increase in the incidence of peripheral invasion in the SBTS group (39.5% vs 47.6%, P = 0.411). No significant difference was noted in the survival rate and long-term prognosis between the SEMS and ES groups (P = 0.964). The technical success rate was 95.6%, and the clinical success rate was 97.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative colon stenting was an effective transitional method for colorectal cancer patients with complete obstruction. Short-term stent implantation had no significant effect on perineural invasion in patients with CRC.