Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Mar 16, 2023; 15(3): 177-190
Published online Mar 16, 2023. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v15.i3.177
Endoscopic biliary treatment of unresectable cholangiocarcinoma: A meta-analysis of survival outcomes and systematic review
Jeffrey Rebhun, Claire M Shin, Uzma D Siddiqui, Edward Villa
Jeffrey Rebhun, Department of Gastroenterology, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR 97239, United States
Claire M Shin, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
Uzma D Siddiqui, Center for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics, University of Chicago, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
Edward Villa, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Northshore University Health System, Evanston, IL 60201, United States
Author contributions: Villa E contributed to conception and design; Rebhun J and Villa E contributed to analysis and interpretation of the data; Rebhun J, Shin CM, Villa E contributed to drafting of the article; Siddiqui UD and Villa E contributed to critical revision of the article for important intellectual content; Rebhun J, Shin CM, Siddiqui UD, Villa E contributed to final approval of the article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Uzma Siddiqui has served as a speaker/consultant for Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Olympus. Edward Villa has served as a consultant/speaker for ConMed as well as a speaker for Ovesco.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jeffrey Rebhun, MD, Academic Fellow, Department of Gastroenterology, Oregon Health and Sciences University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239, United States. jeffrebhun@gmail.com
Received: November 3, 2022
Peer-review started: November 3, 2022
First decision: December 11, 2022
Revised: January 12, 2023
Accepted: March 1, 2023
Article in press: March 1, 2023
Published online: March 16, 2023
Processing time: 132 Days and 9.9 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Further prospective studies comparing all therapeutic modalities are needed to best understand their role in the treatment of unresectable cholangiocarcinoma.

Research motivation

Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation with biliary stenting is a promising palliative therapeutic option in patients presenting with unresectable cholangiocarcinoma.

Research objectives

Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation when used in conjunction with biliary stenting showed improved survival benefit when compared to alternative palliative therapies.

Research methods

This is a comprehensive literature review of studies evaluating survival benefit and other clinical outcomes as it relates to the proposed therapeutic interventions.

Research results

To better understand, qualify, and quantify the survival outcomes of endoscopic radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, and photodynamic therapy in the treatment of unresectable cholangiocarcinoma as it compares to conventional therapy alone.

Research conclusions

Our motivation for this study was to better understand alternative approaches to palliative endoscopic intervention for patients with unresectable cholangiocarcinoma.

Research perspectives

There is limited data evaluating the clinical outcomes of endoscopic radiofrequency ablation and photodynamic therapy as interventions for unresectable cholangiocarcinoma.