Evaluation of a New Esophageal Stent for the Treatment of Malignant and Benign Esophageal Strictures

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the EGIS esophageal stent for treating malignant and benign esophageal strictures. Materials and Methods: Data of 73 patients (mean age 63.0 ± 11.9 years; 66 males) with malignant esophageal stricture and 16 patients (mean age 63.7 ± 9.5 years; 13 males) with benign esophageal stricture who received the EGIS esophageal stent (S&G Biotech, Seongnam, Korea) between October 2010 and April 2016 were obtained from a prospectively maintained electronic database. Results: Technical and clinical success rates were 100% (89/89). Stent malfunction (i.e., tumor/tissue overgrowth, stent migration, and food impaction) occurred in 20.5% (15/73) and 37.5% (6/16) of patients with malignant and benign esophageal strictures, respectively. Stent migration occurred in five (6.8%) and four (25%) patients with malignant and benign esophageal strictures, respectively. The median follow-up durations in patients with malignant and benign esophageal strictures were 130 [interquartile range (IQR) 76–322] days and 486 (IQR 315–736) days, respectively. Recurrent dysphagia occurred in 14.1% (10/73) and 87.5% (14/16) of patients with malignant and benign esophageal strictures, respectively. The median recurrence-free durations in patients with malignant and benign esophageal strictures were 126 (IQR 69–259) days and 100 (IQR 40–182) days, respectively. Conclusion: The EGIS esophageal stent appears to be effective for malignant esophageal strictures, with relatively low rate of stent migration, whereas, for benign esophageal strictures, it seems to be associated with a high rate of recurrent dysphagia, mainly due to stent migration.