Management of Malignant Gastric Outlet Obstruction Between Surgery and Endoscopy

Gastric Outlet Obstruction (GOO) syndrome is a frequent complication of biliopancreatic and gastroduodenal neoplasms and manifests with recurrent vomiting, dehydration and malnutrition, seriously compromising quality of life and the ability to tolerate chemotherapy.

Standard treatment options for GOO are surgical gastroenterostomy (S-GE) or endoscopic placement of a self-expanding metallic stent (ES): surgical treatment achieves better long-term results at the cost of a more invasive procedure. The advances of therapeutic endosonography (EUS) have provided a new possibility to resolve this condition through EUS-guided gastroenterostomy (EUS-GE). The latter involves the creation of a gastroenteric bypass by endoscopically positioning a lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS). Recent evidence has shown several advantages over previous treatments, in terms of less invasiveness compared to surgery and greater long-term efficacy compared to enteral stenting. However, most of the evidence comes from retrospective protocols and heterogeneous studies that include different neoplasms and clinical courses. Furthermore, the definition of clinical success in the current literature refers to the resolution of the mechanical obstruction of the syndrome, without any in-depth study on the clinical impact of different management strategies in terms of more complex outcomes, such as survival, quality of life, nutritional status and chemotherapy tolerance.

The aim of this study is to prospective...