Understanding Esophageal Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

A malignant tumor, or cancer, is a condition in which cells in the body grow out of control. The term “malignant” indicates that there is a probability that the tumor will spread beyond the site where it initially developed.
Esophageal cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the esophagus, the tube that’s responsible for moving food from the throat to the stomach.
There are two main types of esophageal cancer: squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma, each begins from a different type of cell.
Esophageal SCCs and adenocarcinomas differ in a number of features, including tumor location and predisposing factors. Smoking and alcohol are major risk factors for SCC, while Barrett's esophagus (a complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD), obesity, and smoking are the main risk factors for adenocarcinoma.

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Signs & symptoms

symptoms may include:
* pain or difficulty when swallowing
* unintentional weight loss
* heartburn
* nausea and vomiting and vomiting of blood
* food coming back up the esophagus
* chest pain
* fatigue
* chronic cough
* hoarseness

Diagnosis

Testing methods for diagnosing esophageal cancer include the following:
* An endoscopy - involves the use of an instrument with a camera attached to a tube that goes down your throat and allows your doctor to view the lining of your esophagus to check for abnormalities and irritation.
* During endoscopy, your doctor can take a biopsy: a process in which your doctor removes a sample of the suspicious tissue and sends it to a lab for testing under a microscope.
Once the diagnosis of esophageal cancer is established, additional tests should be performed to evaluate the extent of the disease and look for metastases. These tests may include:
* Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) – a procedure in which endoscopy is combined with ultrasound. this in fact is an ultrasound test done from inside your esophagus.
* CT scans, PET scans

Treatment

Treatment depends on the size and location of the tumor, how far it has spread and your general health. Your recommended treatment plan may include:
* endoscopic resection - If the tumor is small and superficial, your doctor may be able to remove it using an endoscope.
* surgery – removal of all or part of the esophagus (esophagectomy) and sometimes the lymph nodes around it
* chemotherapy
* radiation therapy

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

Learn more about our editorial process for content accuracy.

Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital