Theoretically, laser therapy might be the only form of treatment needed for a very small tumor in the esophagus that could be completely vaporized.
Still, if the tumor can be cured with surgery, laser therapy isn't recommended for esophageal cancer. For one thing, tumors that small are very, very rare. For another, your doctor could never be sure the tumor hadn't invaded the wall of the esophagus beyond the laser's reach.
But if the cancer can't be cured by surgery (and esophageal cancer can seldom be cured), lasers can still help relieve the symptoms. When the tumor becomes so large that the opening of the esophagus—the lumen—gets blocked, you can't swallow food or even saliva. About 50 percent of patients can maintain their ability to swallow throughout their illness when a laser restores the lumen by vaporizing the tissue blocking it.
Laser vs Prosthetic Placement There are alternatives to laser therapy to treat swallowing problems. A tube, or prosthesis , placed in the esophagus can achieve an esophageal opening for swallowing in 95 percent of patients. But the procedure has a 13 percent complication rate and a 4.3 percent mortality rate.
Prostheses have a number of problems. They tend to get out of position and may block the esophagus on their own. They also don't propel food down to the stomach, so you may be limited to fluids or semi-solids. In general, they are not good for palliation of swallowing problems.
