Abstract
Background and purpose: The prognosis of inoperable carcinomas of esophagus is poor, and therapeutic efforts are generally limited to palliation. The aim of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of intraluminal high dose rate brachytherapy in the palliative treatment of tumorous esophageal stenoses.
Patients and methods: Between February 1996 and June 2011 intraluminal brachytherapy was performed in 41 patients with esophageal carcinoma (squamous cell carcinoma in 19 cases and adenocarcinoma in 22 cases). All patients had dysphagia at presentation.
Brachytherapy was performed using high dose rate afterloading system. Results: Dysphagia was improved in majority of patients.
The median survival was 396 days (95 % CI: 270-492 days). No mechanical complication was observed during introduction of the applicator.
Conclusion: Our experience indicates that intraluminal brachytherapy is an effective and safe method of palliation of dysphagia caused by malignant esophageal stenosis.