Percutaneous transluminal stenting for superior vena cava syndrome caused by malignant tumors: a single-center retrospective study

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous stent placement in the treatment of superior vena cava syndrome caused by malignant tumors. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 32 patients with superior vena cava syndrome who underwent percutaneous endovascular stent treatment in our department from 2015 to 2019 due to malignant tumors and summarized the patient’s sex, age, tumor type, endovascular treatment plan, complications and postoperative follow-up. RESULTS: All patients successfully underwent percutaneous intraluminal stent placement with digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Thirty-seven endovascular stents were implanted in 32 patients, including 21 Eluminexx stents, 12 Wallstent stents and 4 covered stents. The technical success rate was 100%, and there were no serious surgery-related complications. The remission rate of clinical symptoms was 53.1% (17/32) at 24 h and 84.4% (27/32) at 48 h. After 48 h, the symptoms of the remaining patients were slowly relieved, and the symptom relief rate was 100% at 7 days. The follow-up period was 1.5–24 months, with an average follow-up period of 6.5 months. During the follow-up, 3 patients had restenosis and 1 patient had secondary thrombosis in the stent. Their symptoms were relieved after the second treatment. CONCLUSION: For superior vena cava syndrome caused by malignant tumors, percutaneous endoluminal stent therapy can quickly and effectively relieve the clinical symptoms of patients, and the incidence of complications is low.