Palliative treatment in malignant stenoses of esophagus and cardia: Laser therapy versus laser + high-dose-rate-iridium-192 afterloading therapy

In order to compare the local efficiency of two different therapy modalities, 37 patients with advanced inoperable tumors of esophagus and cardia were evaluated hitherto ina prospective randomized study. Twenty patients received an exclusive laser treatment, 17 were additionally submitted to three high-dose-rate irridium-192 afterloading irradiations (single dose at the reference point 1 cm radially to the source: 7 Gy). In both groups, 15 patients died whose survival times were not different (125 versus 130 days), however, a beneficial influence was exerted by the afterloading therapy with respect to the duration of the palliative effect (67 versus 28 days) and the hospitalization time (25 versus 48 days). (orig.)