Endoscopic ultrasonography may help, since it allows the tissue beneath the surface to be assessed. It is very important to know how much of the tumor is within the opening, or lumen, of the body tube and how much of it has extended through the wall of the lumen into surrounding tissues. The status of the lymph nodes is important too, and this staging can be done quickly if an emergency arises.
Treating an Obstruction in the Trachea Tumors in the windpipe (trachea) can't be treated very successfully with standard treatments. Less than 30 percent of patients are candidates for surgical removal of tumor, and radiotherapy has few long-term survivors. Yet if the goal of treatment is palliation, laser therapy is a reasonable alternative.
Tracheal and endobronchial cancers can be directly seen through an endoscope and can be treated with a YAG laser, with or without the light-sensitizing hemoatoporphyrins. The tumor usually grows back and another treatment will be needed in four, eight, or twelve weeks. With intrabronchial lesions, this interval can be stretched out by "afterloading" iridium-192. This involves placing empty catheters next to the tumor through an endoscope, then inserting the radioactive materials into the catheters to deliver a specific dose of radiation.
