[Palliative treatment of dysphagia in esophageal cancer]

Esophageal cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and many patients are only eligible for palliative treatment. Dysphagia secondary to local tumor extension is a frequent and debilitating symptom in these patients, often requiring intervention to increase quality of life. Management includes radiotherapy and endoscopic modalities such as stenting and argon plasma coagulation. Treatment choice should be individualised and based on patient condition and preferences, tumor location and characteristics, prognosis and prior therapy. This review finds that the optimal palliative approach remains debated.