Liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy for dysphagia palliation in patients with inoperable esophageal cancer

Dysphagia is a debilitating symptom in patients with inoperable esophageal cancer contributing to poor quality of life and worsening nutritional status. The 2 most commonly used palliative modalities for dysphagia are radiation therapy (RT) and esophageal stent placement. However, RT is limited by adverse events (AEs) and total dose, and stent placement has a high rate of AEs including reflux, migration, and chest pain. A relatively new modality of liquid nitrogen endoscopic spray cryotherapy has been described as salvage when other options have been exhausted and when patients are no longer receiving systemic therapy.

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