A randomized trial of thermal ablative therapy versus expandable metal stents in the palliative treatment of patients with esophageal carcinoma

This is a critical abstract of an economic evaluation that meets the criteria for inclusion on NHS EED. Each abstract contains a brief summary of the methods, the results and conclusions followed by a detailed critical assessment on the reliability of the study and the conclusions drawn. Neither therapy provided satisfactory palliation of dysphagia. However, patients who underwent thermal tumour ablation (TTA) had a longer average survival and maintained their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores. In comparison, the stent group showed a deterioration in their HRQoL scores. The cost of TTA was nearly double that of stent therapy, owing to the need for repeated overnight hospitalisation of patients receiving ablative therapy.