SynthesisThe Journal of international medical research2023
Is endoscopic radiofrequency ablation plus stent placement superior to stent placement alone for the treatment of malignant biliary obstruction? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The Journal of international medical research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Percutaneous Transhepatic Endobiliary Microwave Ablation Before Stenting for Malignant Obstructive Jaundice: Evidence Synthesis and Preliminary Technical Experience.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Sequential central retinal artery occlusion in two brothers: a fight to prevent blindness.Documenta ophthalmologica. Advances in ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Ablatio-bilica: safety of biliary intraductal radiofrequency ablation in patients with unresectable extrahepatic biliary tract cancer undergoing systemic anti-tumor therapy: a phase II, multi-center, randomized, and controlled study.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveMalignant biliary obstruction (MBO) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. Recent studies have shown that endoscopic radiofrequency ablation (ERFA) may improve survival. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of ERFA in combination with biliary stent placement for the treatment of MBO.
methodsThe study was registered in INPLASY (number 202340096). The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched from inception to April 2023. We selected studies comparing the efficacy of ERFA plus stent placement with stent placement alone. The primary outcomes were pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival and stent patency; the secondary outcomes were the odds ratios (ORs) for adverse events.
resultsEleven studies (four randomized controlled trials and seven observational studies) were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis showed a difference in survival time between the two groups (HR 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58-0.73,
conclusionsERFA has a significant survival benefit for MBO, but does not increase the risk of adverse events.
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Registered trials
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