Laser therapy in patients with primary lung cancer

Twenty-eight therapeutic bronchoscopic procedures with laser were carried out on 20 patients with primary lung cancer. Indications for laser bronchoscopic study were nonresectable, endoscopically visible tumor in patients who had any of the following complications after chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy: increasing dyspnea, postobstructive pneumonia, atelectasis, or hemoptysis from an endoscopically visible site. Symptomatic benefit was noted by 15 of 20 patients after laser therapy. There were two procedure-related deaths. Our conclusions regarding selection of patients for laser therapy of endotracheal and endobronchial lesions are given.