Carcinoma of the esophagus: a new proposal for the evaluation of treatment.

An 8-year study of the records of 127 patients with carcinoma of the esophagus revealed that the data necessary to make an evaluation of various methods of palliative treatment frequently were not recorded on the charts. Therefore, it was not possible to recommend one particular paliative treatment for carcinoma of the esophagus. The authors believe that a prospective study is required to evaluate objectively the various modes of treatment for this disease. They propose a grading system with numbered values, so that future studies can be made more objective: in addition such a system would allow comparison of series from different treatment centres.