Table 1.
Patients characteristics
| Characteristics | Number (n = 64) | % |
| Mean age, years (mean ± SD) | 62.9 ± 11.6 | |
| Gender (males/females) | 58/6 | 90.6/9.4 |
| Length of the strictures in cm (mean ± SD) | 5.6 ± 1.6 | |
| Dysphagia score before FCSEMS (mean ± SD) | 3.1 ± .68 | |
| Fistula before FCSEMS (yes/no) | 6/58 | 9.4 |
| Tumor origin | ||
| Esophageal | 44 | 68.8 |
| Gastric | 15 | 23.4 |
| External malignancy | 5 | 7.8 |
| Tumor location | ||
| Upper | 3 | 4.7 |
| Mid | 24 | 37.5 |
| Lower | 18 | 28.1 |
| GEJ | 19 | 29.7 |
| Tumor histology | ||
| SCC | 44 | 69.8 |
| Adenocarcinoma | 19 | 30.2 |
| Other | 1 | 1.56 |
| Indication for SEMS placement | ||
| Esophageal lesion | 54 | 84.4 |
| Fistula with respiratory tract | 6 | 9.4 |
| External compression | 4 | 6.2 |
| Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scale score | ||
| 0 | 29 | 45.3 |
| 1 | 21 | 32.8 |
| 2 | 9 | 14 |
| 3 | 5 | 7.8 |
| Therapy before FCSEMS | ||
| Radiotherapy (yes/no) | 19/45 | |
| Chemotherapy (yes/no) | 36/28 | |
| Therapy after FCSEMS | ||
| Radiotherapy (yes/no) | 6/58 | |
| Chemotherapy (yes/no) | 21/43 | |
| TNM staging | ||
| 2 | 9 | |
| 3 | 13 | |
| 4 | 24 |
FCSEMS, fully covered self-expandable metallic stent; GEJ, gastroesophageal junction; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; SD, standard deviation; TNM, tumor/nodes/metastasis; Tx, unknown tumor stage.