1. Radioactive Self-Expanding Stents Give Superior Palliation in Patients With Unresectable Cancer of the Esophagus but Should Be Used With Caution if They Have Had Prior Radiotherapy 
Ning Liu, MD, Shuguang Liu, MD, Cheng Xiang, MD, PhD, Ning Cong, MD, Bing Wang, MD, Bo Zhou, MD, Benwu Zhang, MD, Yuliang Li, MD, Yongzheng Wang, MD, Shuanghu Yuan, MD, PhD 
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 
Volume 98, Issue 2, Pages (August 2014)
DOI: /j.athoracsur
Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

2. Fig 1
The dysphagia grades significantly improved in both groups within the first month after stent placement (p < 0.01) and worsened at 3 months, but it was better in the irradiation stent group than in the traditional stent group (p = 0 .03).
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

3. Fig 2
The median survival was 4.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.5 to 4.5 months) in the irradiation stent group and 3.0 months (95% CI, 2.4 to 3.6 months) in the traditional stent group, respectively. The survival differences between the 2 groups were not significant (p = 0.064). (cum = cumulative.)
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions