Abstract

Purpose: We clinically investigated cases in which an AERO stent was placed for airway stenosis due to malignant disease at our hospital. Subjects: Twenty-two patients who underwent AERO stent placement between October 2016 and March 2022 were included. The age distribution ranged from 52 to 89 years old, 16 males and 6 females. Causes of airway stenosis were lung cancer in 11 cases, esophageal cancer in 4 cases, thyroid cancer in 3 cases, breast cancer in 2 cases, prostate cancer in 1 case, and mediastinal tumor in 1 case. 13 cases were placed under a rigid endoscope, and 9 cases were placed under a flexible endoscope. Post-treatment was performed in 15 cases, including chemotherapy alone in 7 cases, radiotherapy alone in 5 cases, and chemoradiotherapy in 3 cases. Postoperative dyspnea improved in all patients. Postoperative complications included 2 cases of infection (1 case of cervical abscess, 1 case of pneumonia), 2 cases of prolapse, 2 cases of esophageal obstruction, and 1 case of reintubation after weaning the ventilator after surgery. There were no cases where ECMO was attached, and only sheath insertion was performed in 3 cases. The median survival time for all patients was 79.5 days, with a median survival time of 100 days (36-449 days) in the post-treatment group and 74 days (18-210 days) in the no-treatment group. Long-term survival trended (p=0.064) in the post-treatment group.Conclusion: Although stent treatment for airway stenosis is a palliative treatment, it greatly contributes to QOL improvement. In stenosis caused by malignant tumors, prolongation of survival can be expected by performing post-treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy after stent placement.