Palliative Treatment of Esophageal Cancer. The aim of the palliative treatment is to reduce dysphagia and to maintain oral food intake and improve quality of life. The palliative therapy is divided into the nonendos copic and endoscopic treatment modalities. The non-endoscopic therapies include chemotherapy and external beam or intraluminal radiotherapy (brachytherapy). Because of the poor condition and/or the advanced cancer stage minimal invasive endoscopic therapies are the first choice in most patients. Nowadays a variety of treatment modalities such as bougienage and dilation as well as thermal destruction using laser or argon plasma coagulation devices and self-expanding metal stents are available. Often bougienage, thermal destruction, and stents are combined. Thermal destruction devices are mainly used for therapy of soft, exophytic and short tumors. The main disadvantage of these procedures is the need for repeated therapy sessions at regular intervals. In case of very rigid and long tumor stenoses and/or submucosal tumors self-expanding metal stents leading to a safe and effective palliation should be preferred.

Keywords:
Esophagel cancer, Palliative therapy, Self-expanding metal stents, Thermal destruction
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© 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel
2008
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