Chen CX, Jin ZA, Yang M, Tang FT, Tang SH. Endoscopic treatment of benign esophageal strictures: Advances and challenges. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(6): 105963 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i6.105963]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shan-Hong Tang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Western Theater Command General Hospital, No. 270 Rongdu Road, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China. tangshanhong@swjtu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jun 27, 2025; 17(6): 105963 Published online Jun 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i6.105963
Endoscopic treatment of benign esophageal strictures: Advances and challenges
Chu-Xin Chen, Zhi-An Jin, Ming Yang, Feng-Ting Tang, Shan-Hong Tang
Chu-Xin Chen, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China
Zhi-An Jin, Ming Yang, Shan-Hong Tang, Department of Gastroenterology, Western Theater Command General Hospital, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China
Feng-Ting Tang, Jinjiang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu 610066, Sichuan Province, China
Co-first authors: Chu-Xin Chen and Zhi-An Jin.
Author contributions: Chen CX and Jin ZA are the co-first authors of the paper, they performed the majority of the writing and prepared the tables; Yang M and Tang FT helped with data accusation and editing; Tang SH helped with editing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shan-Hong Tang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Western Theater Command General Hospital, No. 270 Rongdu Road, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China. tangshanhong@swjtu.edu.cn
Received: February 12, 2025 Revised: April 1, 2025 Accepted: May 8, 2025 Published online: June 27, 2025 Processing time: 107 Days and 21.4 Hours
Abstract
Benign esophageal stricture is characterized by the narrowing of the digestive tract lumen due to multiple factors. Endoscopic treatment is the first treatment choice and includes endoscopic dilatation, drug injection, stenosis incision, stent implantation, stem cell flap transplantation, etc. However, there are currently no specific clinical standards or guidelines to quantify a series of specific parameters in the treatment of benign esophageal stricture, such as the frequency of drug administration, dosage, dilation inner diameter, and number of treatments. This leads to operator bias in clinical practice and inconsistent treatment outcomes among patients. Therefore, this article reviews the current advances and existing challenges in the endoscopic treatment of benign esophageal stricture, with the aim of exploring the possibility of achieving precision and standardization in the endoscopic treatment of this disease.
Core Tip: Endoscopic treatment is the first-line approach for benign esophageal strictures, including dilation, medication, incision, and stenting. However, the lack of standardized protocols (e.g., drug dosage, dilation parameters) leads to inconsistent outcomes. Future advancements should integrate precision assessment tools like endoluminal functional luminal imaging probe to standardize treatment, reduce operator bias, and optimize individualized strategies.
