[Endoscopic possibilities in the palliative treatment of cardial gastroesophageal cancer].

Endoscopic surgery including chemical necrolysis, diathermy coagulation and excision, and argon-plasma was conducted in the course of two-stage palliative treatment of 31 patients with gastroesophageal cancer. A total of 273 procedures of tumor destruction were administered. Stenosis was either eliminated or significantly reduced in 28 (90.2%) on completion of stage I. Average stabilization duration was 44 days. During stage II, periodic destruction of tumor foci continued so that peroral feeding could be maintained for another 3 years. Mean survival was 8.7 months (one year--35%, two--20%, three--7.7%). Since no life-threatening complications were reported, our method may be recommended for out-patient hospital applications.