Esophageal cancer is one of the six most common cancers in the world, constituting ï¾7% of the gastrointestinal cancers. Esophageal stents can be inserted into the esophagus to open the pathway as a palliative treatment for advanced esophageal cancer. For the treatment of esophageal cancer, a series of anticancer drug loaded stents such as paclitaxel or 5-fluorouracil/esophageal stent combinations have been prepared by covering a nitinol stent with a polymer or hydrogel shell.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.6b09104?journalCode=aamick
A New Generation of Gold Nanoshell Coated Esophageal Stent: Preparation and Biomedical Applications