Endoscopic palliation of esophageal and cardial cancer: Nd:YAG laser and prosthesis

From November 1, 1992 to January 31, 1997, 227 patients with inoperable esophageal and cardial carcinomas were treated with Nd:YAG laser therapy and prosthesis intubation. The retrograde technique was used in most cases. The tumor involved in 75 pts the Cardia, in 65 the middle thoracic esophagus, in 47 pts the lower thoracic esophagus, in 23 in the upper thoracic esophagus and in 17 in the cervical esophagus. The indications for palliative Nd:YAG laser and prosthesis intubation were a locally advanced or metastatic tumor in 146 pts (64.4%) and poor surgical risk in 81 pts (35.6%). The quality of palliation was evaluated according to the ability to swallow. The mean survival rate of the patients during the follow up was 22 weeks for the laser therapy and 16 weeks for the prosthesis intubation.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.