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Most patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma have unresectable disease at the time of presentation, and treatments are primarily palliative. Extrahepatic biliary cholangiocarcinoma typically presents with at least some degree of biliary obstruction and jaundice. A new study looks at the role and ability of endoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to prolong biliary stent patency and survival time.
Researchers randomized 65 patients with unresectable extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma to receive biliary stents alone or combined with RFA. Patients were followed for a mean of 21 months. The mean survival time was significantly greater among those who underwent RFA plus stenting compared with stenting alone (13 vs. 8 months). At 12 months, su…