Int J Gastrointest Interv 2021; 10(3): 90-95
Published online July 31, 2021 https://doi.org/10.18528/ijgii210033
Copyright © International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention.
Min Young Do, Jae Hee Cho* , Sung Ill Jang , and Dong Ki Lee
Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Correspondence to:*Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06273, Korea.
E-mail address: jhcho9328@yuhs.ac (J.H. Cho).
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Pancreatobiliary malignancy is relatively rare; however, it remains one of the most lethal malignancies and has a dismal prognosis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-guided intraductal radiofrequency ablation (ID-RFA) is a promising, minimally invasive treatment for unresectable malignant biliary strictures by delivering high-frequency alternating current to the target tissue, leading to coagulative necrosis. Recent studies have provided evidence that ERCP-guided ID-RFA is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective adjunctive treatment in terms of stent patency as well as overall survival. Compared with other local treatments, such as photodynamic therapy, ERCP-guided ID-RFA has advantages, including ease of delivery, controlled application of thermal energy, low cost, and fewer systemic side effects, with an acceptable safety profile. ERCP-guided ID-RFA has been proposed as an attractive endobiliary ablative therapy and is regarded to be an adjuvant method for the palliative care of patients with unresectable malignant biliary strictures. However, due to the ongoing lack of comparative studies, the choice of local ablative therapy remains, in each case, an individual decision by the multidisciplinary team.
Keywords: Biliary tract neoplasms, Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, Intraductal, Radiofrequency ablation
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a technique that causes coagulation necrosis in tissues by generating thermal energy using a high-frequency alternating current. Currently, RFA is an established modality for treating solid tumours in individuals with hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.1 Pancreatobiliary malignancy is relatively rare; however, it remains one of the most lethal malignancies and has a dismal prognosis. Most patients are diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease and, even in those with resectable disease, a multidisciplinary approach is required to treat symptomatic biliary obstruction or impaired liver function.2 Of the various therapeutic modalities, there has been increasing interest in the use of local thermal ablation techniques including photodynamic therapy, cryoablation, and RFA in this patient population. The most commonly used local thermal ablation technique is RFA,3 which can be performed using different approaches including intraoperative and percutaneous approaches under ultrasound or radiological imaging guidance, an endoscopic approach using endoscopic ultrasound, or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).4 The present review describes ERCP-guided intraductal RFA (ID-RFA), which has been widely used for many years and has been in the spotlight recently for the treatment of malignant biliary strictures.
RFA is an effective, minimally invasive therapeutic modality involving tumour cytoreduction through various mechanisms including coagulative necrosis, protein denaturation, and activation of anticancer immunity.2 During RFA, a high-frequency alternating current is applied directly to the target lesion, resulting in coagulative necrosis. A perturbation of positive and negatively charged ions within the tissue produces friction heat5 that is proportional to the voltage of the high-frequency current and the irradiation time, and is inversely proportional to the distance from the electrode. At temperatures ≥ 50°C, cells undergo coagulation necrosis, which is reversible and damages cytosolic and mitochondrial enzymes. On the other hand, at temperatures > 100°C, a coagulum is created in the tissue around the RFA catheter tip. Because contiguous areas around the coagulum are exposed to the highest current and heat shock due to reduced electrical conductivity, which reduces the efficiency of RFA, the recommended safe temperature range for RFA 50°C–100°C.6
ERCP-guided ID-RFA is being implemented in many medical centers around the world based on specific protocols and the individual experiences of clinicians over many years. Currently, there are two commercialised RFA catheters, Habib EndoHBP® (Boston Scientific, Marlborough MA, USA) and the Endoluminal Radiofrequency Ablation (ELRA) RFA catheter® (Starmed, Goyang, Korea). These are bipolar RFA devices that can be placed on the target lesion through ERCP channels for endoluminal delivery of RFA along the guidewire (Fig. 1). The bipolar Habib EndoHBP catheter is an 8 Fr (2.6 mm), 1.8 m long RFA catheter consisting of two stainless steel ring electrodes spaced 8 mm apart.7 Itoi et al8 reported that a suitable RFA setting was 7–10 W power for 2 minutes in
The ID-RFA procedure proceeds in the following manner. The RFA catheter is placed at the target lesion, and ID-RFA is applied using the recommended generator setting. A balloon cholangiogram is performed to confirm the absence of ID-RFA-related complications, and ablated necrotic debris can be removed using balloon removal. Because ID-RFA causes post-RFA biliary stricture, biliary drainage should be performed using plastic stents or self-expandable metal stents (SEMS). Because biliary stricture(s) may temporarily worsen due to edema shortly after the procedure and fibrotic stricture changes may occur in the long term, insertion of stents to maintain biliary flow is recommended after ID-RFA (Fig. 2).11
Because clinical studies investigating ID-RFA have mostly been small-scale investigations, many concerns in clinical practice remain. Absolute contraindications for RFA include cardiac pacemakers, pregnancy, and coagulation disorders. While ID-RFA has been reported to be relatively safe and well tolerated, the incidence of adverse events have been reported to range from approximately 1% to 20%.12,13 Common RFA-related adverse events include cholangitis and pancreatitis;3 however, more serious events have also been reported, including hepatic infarction, hemobilia, liver abscess, sepsis, portal vein thrombosis, and death.14–16 While it is difficult to provide accurate figures due to the lack of research, recent studies have reported a decrease in the frequency of serious complications.17–20 This may be attributable to the accumulation of experience with ID-RFA and the use of safer ID-RFA settings. However, RFA always poses a risk for potential lethal adverse events due to the proximity of surrounding vital structures; nevertheless, the ID-RFA procedure requires constant attention. Another safety concern is the actual therapeutic depth and extent of ID-RFA in human bile duct tissue. In our clinicopathological study, which included eight patients with distal extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who underwent preoperative temperature controlled ID-RFA, pathological examination revealed that median maximal ablation depth was 4.0 mm (range, 1–6 mm) and median effective ablation length (histological ablation length/fluoroscopic ablation length) was 72.0% (range, 42.1%–95.3%).21
Over the past decade, many studies have validated the technical safety and effectiveness of ID-RFA (Table 1).14–20,22–33 Most studies used the Habib RFA catheter, and various biliary stents were placed to maintain biliary drainage after ID-RFA. Alis et al24 reported that endobiliary RFA therapy is feasible and safe for palliative treatment of distal and bismuth type I hilar extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. In a nationwide retrospective study, Dolak et al15 reported that RFA was technically feasible and safe for the palliative treatment of malignant biliary obstruction. In a Korean multicentre study,19 30 patients with unresectable or inoperable extrahepatic malignant biliary stricture underwent temperature-controlled ID-RFA and post-RFA SEMS insertion. The cumulative duration of stent patency was 236 days, and adverse events occurred in two patients with pancreatitis and one with cholangitis.
Table 1 . Results of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography-Guided Intraductal Radiofrequency Ablation in Pancreatobiliary Tumor.
Author (year) | Patients ( | Diagnosis ( | Type of stents ( | Median stent patency (day) | Median survival (mo) | Median no. of RFA | No. of adverse events (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steel et al (2011)22 | 22 | BDC 6 PDAC 16 | Uncovered SEMS 21 | 114 | NA | 2 | 4/21 (19.0) Cholecystitis 2 Pancreatitis 1 Rigor 1 |
Figueroa-Barojas et al (2013)23 | 20 | BDC 11 PDAC 7 Others 2 | Uncovered SEMS 1 Partially/fully covered SEMS 13 Plastic stent 6 | NA | NA | NA | 5/20 (25.0) Pancreatitis 1 Cholecystitis 1 Pain 5 |
Alis et al (2013)24 | 17 | BDC | Fully covered SEMS 10 | 270 | NA | 3 | 2/10 (20.0) Pancreatitis 2 |
Dolak et al (2014)15 | 58 | BDC (Klatskin 45) Others 13 | SEMS 35 Plastic stent 19 | 171 | 10.6 | 1.4 | 11/58 (19.0) Liver infarction 1 Hemobilia 3 GB empyema 1 Cholangitis 5 Sepsis 2 Hepatic coma 1 Left bundle branch block 1 |
Tal et al (2014)14 | 12 | BDC (Klatskin 9) Others 3 | Plastic stent 12 | NA | 6.4 | 1.5 | 6/12 (50.0) Hemobilia 4 Mortality 2 |
Sharaiha et al (2014)29 | 26 | BDC 18 PDAC 8 | Uncovered SEMS 7 Covered SEMS 8 Plastic stent 11 | NA | 5.9 | NA | 5/26 (19.2) Pancreatitis 1 Cholangitis 1 Pain 3 |
Sharaiha et al (2015)16 | 69 | BDC 45 PDAC 19 GBC 2 Others 4 | SEMS 49 Plastic stent 20 | NA | 11.5 | 1.4 | 7/69 (10.1) Pancreatitis 1 Cholecystitis 2 Hemobilia 1 Pain 3 |
Kallis et al (2015)25 | 23 | Unresectable PDAC | Uncovered SEMS 23 | 324 | 7.5 | NA | 2/23 (8.7) Hyperamylasemia 1 Cholangitis 1 |
Laquière et al (2016)26 | 12 | BDC (Klatskin 12) | SEMS or plastic stent | NA | 12.3 | 1.6 | 2/12 (16.7) Cholangitis 1 Sepsis 1 |
Wang et al (2016)27 | 12 | BDC 9 Others 3 | SEMS or plastic stent | 125 | 7.7 | 1.67 | 1/12 (8.3) Pancreatitis 1 |
Schmidt et al (2016)28 | 14 | BDC 14 Others 2 | SEMS or Plastic stent | NA | NA | 2.2 | 4/14 (28.6) Cholangitis 2 Liver abscess 2 |
Laleman et al (2017)17 | 18 | PDAC 7 BDC (Klatskin 11) | SEMS or Plastic stent | 110 | 7.6 | 1 | 6/18 (33.3) Cholangitis 4 Pancreatitis 2 |
Yang et al (2018)18 | 32 | BDC (distal 22, Klatskin 10) | Plastic stent | 195 | 13.2 | NA | 2/32 (6.3) Cholangitis 2 |
Lee et al (2019)19 | 30 | BDC 19 PDAC 9 GBC 2 | Uncovered SEMS 10 Covered SEMS 20 | 236 | 12.8 | NA | 3/30 (10.0) Pancreatitis 2 Cholangitis 1 |
Kim et al (2019)20 | 11 | BDC (Klatskin 8) GBC 2 Others 1 | Uncovered SEMS 10 Plastic stent 1 | 91 | NA | 4 (2-8) | 6/12 (50.0) Pancreatitis 1 Post-procedural fever 5 |
Bokemeyer et al (2019)30 | 32 | BDC (distal 1, Klatskin 23) PDAC 2 GBC 2 Others 4 | SEMS or Plastic stent | NA | 11.4 | 1.68 | 10 (31.3) Cholangitis 6 Pancreatitis 2 Intestinal perforation 1 Pneumothorax 1 |
Hu et al (2020)33 | 23 | Ampullary cancer 23 | SEMS or Plastic stent | NA | 36.0 | 2.26 | 4 (7.7) Mild pancreatitis 1 Bleeding 1 Late distal biliary stenosis 2 |
Gao et al (2020)31 | 87 | BDC (Klatskin 69) Ampullary cancer 18 | Plastic stent | NA | 14.3 | 1 | 24 (27.6) Pancreatitis 4 Bleeding 1 Cholangitis 10 Cholecystitis 9 |
Yang et al (2020)32 | 38 | BDC (distal 26, Klatskin 12) | Plastic stent | 168 | 11.0 | 1 | 4 (10.5) Cholangitis 2 Pancreatitis 1 Bleeding 1 |
RFA, radiofrequency ablation; BDC, bile duct cancer; PDAC, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; GBC, gallbladder cancer; SEMS, self-expandable metallic stent..
To date, several studies have reported positive therapeutic outcomes for ID-RFA. A meta-analysis by Sofi et al34 demonstrated that median survival rates were significantly better in ID-RFA with biliary stent placement than in biliary stent placement only (285 days vs 248 days;
ID-RFA is an attractive therapy for unresectable malignant biliary obstruction(s); however, research investigating whether it can be used safely in perihilar lesions remains lacking. Because the perihilar bile duct is located closer to the hepatic artery and portal vein, the potential risk for ID-RFA-related complications appears to be higher. For this reason, recent research investigating the safety and utility of ID-RFA in the perihilar area, where treatment methods are more limited than those for distal malignant biliary strictures, are being conducted. In our animal study, because we found a higher risk for peribiliary bile duct perforation after using conventional settings for ID-RFA for distal malignant biliary obstruction (i.e. 10 W, 2 minutes), we could recommend that the use of the lower power shortest type of ID-RFA (7W, 11 mm ELRA) was preferred for hilar ID-RFA.20 In particular, because ELRA has four different lengths—the shortest being 11 mm—it is expected to be safer for hilar ID-RFA compared with the 24-mm Habib RFA catheter. Although various treatment results for ID-RFA have been reported for perihilar lesions,30,31 because sufficient evidence has not yet been accumulated, more well-designed clinical studies are needed to clarify whether ID-RFA could extend stent patency and improve survival in those with malignant perihilar biliary strictures.
Another interesting topic is the combined effect of anticancer drugs. Considering the local effect of ID-RFA, an enhanced therapeutic outcome can be anticipated when ID-RFA is combined with anticancer treatment, which is the current standard treatment for biliary cancer. A prospective randomised controlled study32 reported that ID-RFA combined with S-1 for locally advanced extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma was associated with longer survival and stent patency and improved functional status than RFA alone (16.0 months vs 11.0 months;
Therapeutic indications for ERCP-guided ID-RFA have been expanded to the ampulla of Vater and
With recent changes in the medical environment, such as preferences for non-invasive treatments, increased need for better quality of life, and increasing cancer rates among the elderly, interest in various local treatments, such as RFA and photodynamic therapy, has increased, especially in pancreatobiliary cancer. ERCP-guided ID-RFA is regarded to be an effective, minimally invasive treatment for unresectable malignant biliary strictures, and is mainly used for adjunctive and palliative treatment and can efficiently restore biliary drainage; moreover, recent studies have suggested a survival benefit with ID-RFA. Nevertheless, the utility and long-term therapeutic outcomes of ID-RFA according to various sites in the biliary tree remain lacking, and we believe that further prospective large-scale multicentre studies are required to confirm the clinical benefits of these techniques for the management of malignant biliary strictures.
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
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