In order to compare the local efficiency of two different therapy modalities, 37 patients with advanced inoperable tumors of esophagus and cardia were evaluated hitherto in a prospective randomized study. Twenty patients received an exclusive laser treatment, 17 were additionally submitted to three high-dose-rate iridium-192 afterloading irradiations (single dose at the reference point 1 cm radially to the source: 7 Gy). In both groups, 15 patients died whose survival times were not different (125 versus 130 days), however, a beneficial influence was exerted by the afterloading therapy with respect to the duration of the palliative effect (67 versus 28 days) and the hospitalization time (25 versus 48 days).