Oesophageal Carcinoma: Patient’s Refusal for Surgery may be the Right Choice

I read with interest the article by Wong et al1 on combination treatment for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Treatment for the oesophageal SCC is still suboptimal with poor long-term survival and controversies remain regarding the benefit of combining different treatment modalities such as chemoradiotherapy and surgery.2-4 Wong et al concluded that preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery offered the best available option and patients’ comorbid conditions and refusal for surgery are major limiting factors. However, patients’ refusal for therapy may not necessarily be the wrong choice.