OpenOnco
UA EN
Plan Builder Onco Wiki Tumor Board

Onco Wiki / Red flag

Severe dysphagia with weight loss / aspiration risk in esophageal cancer: inability to sw...

Deterministic view of the source YAML entity. Clinical authority remains with the cited source IDs and reviewer sign-off state.

IDRF-ESOPH-SEVERE-DYSPHAGIA-ASPIRATION
TypeRed flag
Statusreviewed 2026-04-26 | pending_clinical_signoff
DiseasesDIS-ESOPHAGEAL
SourcesSRC-ESMO-ESOPHAGEAL-2024 SRC-NCCN-ESOPHAGEAL-2025

Red Flag Origin

DefinitionSevere dysphagia with weight loss / aspiration risk in esophageal cancer: inability to swallow saliva, recurrent aspiration pneumonia, >10% weight loss in 3 months, OR malignant tracheoesophageal fistula. Mandates urgent palliative intervention (stenting OR dilation OR diversion) BEFORE any definitive systemic / RT therapy.
Clinical directionhold
Categoryorgan-dysfunction

Trigger Logic

{
  "any_of": [
    {
      "finding": "cannot_swallow_saliva",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "finding": "recurrent_aspiration_pneumonia",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "comparator": ">=",
      "finding": "weight_loss_pct_3mo",
      "threshold": 10
    },
    {
      "finding": "tracheoesophageal_fistula",
      "value": true
    }
  ],
  "type": "composite_score"
}

Notes

Self-expandable esophageal stent OR endoscopic dilation OR PEG/J-tube for nutritional support. Tracheoesophageal fistula precludes RT (worsens fistula) — covered stent + chemo only. Severe weight loss pre-CROSS predicts poor tolerance — pre-treatment nutrition optimization mandatory.

Used By

Algorithms

Indications