A man who was admitted to hospital three days after a procedure to check for cancer later died of natural causes, a coroner ruled.
An inquest in Oxford heard that Peter John Pocknell, 53, of Fewcott, Bicester, had been referred to hospital by his GP after complaining of back pain.
Consultants were concerned he could have cancer, and on March 13 an endoscopy was carried out.
Three days later Mr Pocknell, who was a company director, was re-admitted to The Horton Hospital, in Banbury, complaining of vomiting blood.
He was transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, where he died on March 23.
Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said the cause of death was inflammation of the lungs and air in the chest cavity, due to a perforation of the oesophagus caused by a tumour.
Mr Gardiner said it seemed the perforation had not been caused by the endoscopy, as Mr Pocknell would have become unwell almost immediately.
He recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.
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