BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: @entity5 still has a dismal prognosis. Radical surgery is by far the most successful treatment but most @entity1 are not operable at the time of diagnosis and for these @entity1 external beam radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy offers the best choice for cure or palliation. In @entity1 with advanced @entity5 , intraluminal brachytherapy has been proposed as a complementary method to increase local control. @entity1 AND METHODS: Between 1989 and 1999, 40 @entity1 with inoperable @entity5 were treated with combined external and intraluminal radiation therapy in Turku University Central Hospital. The external radiation was performed with a median total dose of 40 Gy given in 20 fractions. On the average a week after the external radiation a median total dose of 10 Gy intraluminal radiation therapy was given in 4 fractions. RESULTS: The intraluminal brachytherapy could be performed without technical difficulties and no major complications were seen. In many cases (16 out of 40 @entity1 , 40%), the symptoms could be relieved immediately and in most cases the progression of the disease could be delayed as evidenced by post-treatment serial endoscopy. No major complications were encountered. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 30 and 17.5%, respectively. All @entity1 alive at 2 years can be considered as long-term survivors. Median follow-up was 86 months. CONCLUSIONS: Intraluminal brachytherapy is a safe and efficient treatment modality which offers a potential means of cure for selected @entity1 with @entity5 .

Combined external and intraluminal radiotherapy in the treatment of advanced XXXX .

@entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['oesophageal cancer', 'Oesophageal cancer'] @entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['PATIENTS', 'patients']
@entity5 :: (MESH:D009369,Disease) :: ['oesophageal cancer']
