PTEG Elicits Encouraging Technical Outcomes in Malignant Bowel Obstruction

In a discussion with CancerNetwork®, Thinzar Min Lwin, MD, MS, discussed the primary findings of a study she conducted that assessed the use of percutaneous transesophageal gastrostomy (PTEG) for patients with malignant bowel obstruction. Findings showed limited complications and moderate durability associated with PTEG for this patient population.

Lwin, a gastrointestinal cancer surgical oncologist and assistant clinical professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology of the Department of Surgery at City of Hope in Duarte, California, noted the limitations of the conclusions one could draw from her study due to a small sample size. In the study, the use of PTEG nevertheless demonstrated technical feasibility and enabled patients to be discharged from the hospital.

Post-operative length of stay ranged from 4 to 9 days for patients who underwent treatment with PTEG. Additionally, investigators reported a 100% success rate for PTEG placement without immediate procedure-related mortality.

Lin presented these findings at the 2025 Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Transcript:

We took a look from January 2024 to October 2024, a rather short period of time, at our institution. During this period, we had 5 patients with malignant bowel obstruction who needed the PTEG, percutaneous transesophageal gastrostomy tube placement. The cancers [included] head and neck cancer, gastric cancer, ovarian [cancer], and pancreatic cancer. But [because] it was such a small sample, it’s a little bit limited in the conclusions that we can draw.

What we found was that this approach did allow patients to get out of the hospital. The post-procedure length of stay was anywhere from 4 to 9 days. Four patients were able to be discharged home, and 1 patient went to inpatient hospice. One of the other questions that we had was, “How long were patients living with this tube after a procedure that’s meant for palliative symptom management towards the end of life in their cancer journey?” We found that patients were surviving with this tube for up to a mean of 75 days. Another question was, “What [was] the technical success of this tube placement?” We had 100% technical tube placement with no immediate post-procedure–related mortality. That was encouraging.

Reference

Olson K, Boas FE, Liu B, Trisal V, Lwin T. Percutaneous transesophageal gastrostomy as an alternative approach for palliative decompression of malignant bowel obstruction. Presented at the 2025 Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Meeting. March 27-29, 2025; Tampa, FL. Abstract P435.