title: Therapeutic effect of argon plasma coagulation on small malignant gastrointestinal tumors.
abstract: In endoscopy, argon plasma coagulation (APC) is a new principle of non-contact electrocoagulation and has proved to be a sufficient tool for palliative endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal neoplasms, predominantly of the oesophagus and colorectum. In a study of 67 patients suffering from histologically confirmed and endosonographic T1-staged tumours of the gastrointestinum, 10 patients were selected for endoscopic APC treatment because of the impossibility of surgical therapy. Although the application was primarily of a palliative nature, in 9 of 10 cases of minor neoplasms, no further tumour could be detected in biopsies during the observation period (9.45 +/- 2.8 months). One patient was not cured locally. In none of the patients was any serious complication noticed during the outpatient follow-up. The effective results and lack of severe complications suggest this technique as an alternative therapy in selected patients with smaller gastrointestinal tumours.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sessler
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Flesch
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Grund
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001128:Argon; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care
chemical_list: D001128:Argon