Use of endoscopic laser in gastroenterology

In this presentation we report the current use of endoscopic laser in gastroenterology in Japan with the results of a nation-wide survey and our own experience with more than 100 cases. Nd:YAG laser (photocoagulative therapy) and argon dye laser with hematoporphyrin derivative (photodynamic therapy) were most commonly used in digestive endoscopy, and were investigated as new modalities of cancer therapy and detection. By November 1985, 1588 of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers had been treated in Japan by endoscopic lasers, either as curative or palliative treatment in Japan. Endoscopic laser therapy is "used for" pre-cancerous lesions and early gastric cancer in high risk surgical patients. The Nd:YAG laser at high energy provides a new approach to the palliative treatment, such as relief of neoplastic obstruction in the advanced stage of GI cancers.