Expanding metal oesophageal stents are being used more commonly to palliate patients with inoperable oesophageal carcinoma. Many reports have so far documented their clinical effectiveness, however, their high acquisition cost has caused on-going concern when compared with the cost of conventional therapies. We reviewed 64 consecutive patients with inoperable oesophageal carcinoma, half of whom...

In recent years endoscopically controlled laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) has been increasingly accepted as a minimally invasive method for palliation of advanced or recurrent head and neck or gastrointestinal cancer. Previous studies have shown that adjuvant chemotherapy can potentiate endoscopic laser thermal ablation of obstructing tumors leading to improved palliation in advanced cance...

The review by Kremyanskaya and colleagues[1] regarding the utilization of ruxolitinib (Jakafi) in the therapy of myelofibrosis (MF) raises many important issues regarding how we assess drug efficacy in MF, the heterogeneous nature and impact of the disease, the published data regarding utilization of ruxolitinib, and practical advice for potential prescribers. At its core, the key question pose...

conclusions the right ventricular outflow tract palliation in children with cyanotic chd leads to long-term favorable outcome regarding improvement in oxygen saturation, increase in z score of both left and right pulmonary arteries and also considerable decrease in spell. also, death and complications are rare following rvot palliation. background the right ventricular outflow tract (rvot) pall...

Seventy-seven patients have been treated with total-body hyperthermia to 42°Calone or in combination with chemother apy, radiation, or immunotherapy in a preliminary investigation of this modality. Most had advanced cancers progressing de spite other antineoplastic therapy. An overall objective re sponse rate of 43% was obtained, with an additional 15% achieving good subjective palliation. Res...

Seventy-seven patients have been treated with total-body hyperthermia to 42 degrees C alone or in combination with chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy in a preliminary investigation of this modality. Most had advanced cancers progressing despite other antineoplastic therapy. An overall objective response rate of 43% was obtained, with an additional 15% achieving good subjective palliation...

Palliation of incurable oesophageal carcinoma is important, because radical ablation carries a high mortality and because the unpleasant alternative of terminal complete oesophageal obstruction needs to be avoided. The ideal palliative technique would provide normal swallowing for the patient's remaining days by a technique which was quick, safe, painless, needing only a short inpatient stay an...

INTRODUCTION Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is a rare but highly aggressive tumor with poor prognosis. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice. However, some cases may be diagnosed with advanced inoperable disease. Palliative radiotherapy may be used to relieve symptoms caused by the esophageal tumor. CASE PRESENTATION We report on a case of advanced inoperable primary mali...

The prognosis of patients with biliary cancers is poor. Although surgery is potentially curative in selected patients, local recurrence is a common pattern of failure. Adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiation therapy improves local control and possibly survival. In locally advanced patients, radiation therapy provides palliation and may prolong survival. Concurrently administered chemotherapy may furt...