Esophageal stent placement for the palliation of dysphagia in lung cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate the experience with expandable metal stents for the palliation of malignant dysphagia caused by lung cancer.

Between August 2002 and April 2006, we deployed esophageal metal stents in 14 patients with esophageal involvement from lung cancer. The mean age of the patients was 61.4 years, and 12 were male patients. Expandable metal stents were inserted under fluoroscopic control over a guide-wire with the patient under conscious sedation.

Four patients had concomitant tracheoesophageal fistula. Eleven patients had received previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy and two had had a pneumonectomy. Immediate improvement after esophageal stent replacement was seen in all patients. The fistula was sealed off in all. All the patients remained asymptomatic during follow-up. All patients died, with mean survival of 10 weeks for patients with fistula and 8.3 months in the patients without fistula.

The poor quality of life associated with malignant dysphagia and tracheoesophageal fistula in lung cancer patients can be significantly improved by a non-surgical intervention such as the deployment of expandable metal stents.