Management of central airway obstruction

The efficacy of interventional pulmonology for palliation of patients with central airway obstruction has been established, and its curative potential for early cancer has raised great interest in current screening programs. The success of endoscopic strategies for palliation and treatment with curative intent strongly depends on the diligent identification of the various factors in lung cancer management, including full comprehension of the limits and potential of each particular technique. In the palliative setting of alleviating central airway obstruction, laser resection, electrocautery, argon plasma coagulation, and stenting are techniques that can provide immediate relief, in contrast with cryotherapy, brachytherapy, and photodynamic therapy, which have delayed effects. With curative intent, intraluminal techniques that easily coagulate early-stage cancer lesions will increase the implementation of interventional pulmonology for benign and relatively benign diseases, as well as early cancer lesions and its precursors at their earliest stage of disease.