ArticleCureus2026
A Retrospective Comparison of Radiotherapy and Stenting for the Relief of Dysphagia and Pain in Advanced Esophageal Cancer.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) in relieving dysphagia and pain, while also evaluating their treatment-related adverse event profiles in patients with advanced esophageal cancer. MATERIALS AND
methodsIt is a retrospective review based on observations of 130 patients who presented with locally advanced esophageal cancer and were not fit to receive any curative treatment, and the only intention of treatment was symptom palliation, especially dysphagia and pain.
resultsWe observed a significant and comparable improvement in dysphagia scores in both groups. Based on Ogilvie dysphagia scores, the mean pretreatment dysphagia score for the EBRT group was 2.6; for the SEMS group, it was 3; and respective dysphagia scores three to four months after the treatment were 1 for both groups. However, the same was not true for pain; the drop in median pain score at six months based on the Likert pain scale for the EBRT group was from 7.5 to 4, but for SEMS, the drop in pain score was only from 7 to 5.
conclusionEBRT and esophageal SEMS are equally effective in relieving dysphagia, but the same is not true for pain. For patients with SEMS, pain remains a constant concern both for patient and physician. Hence, proper patient selection for either modality should be meticulously weighted based on symptomology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.