[Interventional bronchoscopy].
BACKGROUND: In Norway, laser treatment of tumours in lower airways started in 1985. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey is given of the 192 patients treated by therapeutic bronchoscopy during the last four years at Rikshospitalet University Hospital. 97 patients with malignant disease and 95 with benign lesions have been treated by either laser, stent or both. RESULTS: The treatment results are judged from treatment intention. In both groups improvement was obtained in 80-90 % of patients. Five carcinoids were eradicated by laser, and three early cancers of squamous cell type. Two patients in the malignancy group died in connection with the treatment. INTERPRETATION: Therapeutic bronchoscopy has become a necessary treatment for a small, but varied group of patients.