Еsophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is more common in men than in women. Cancer of esophagus starts from mucosa and grows outward. It can be two types – squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Cancer can occurs in every part of esophagus but in most people is in lower portion of the tube.
The most common symptoms in esophageal cancer include:
-
Long asymptomatic development of the disease
-
The typical symptom is dysphagia, initially expressed to solid foods, but progress to inability to accept and liquids
-
chest pain
-
bad breath, belching
-
regurgitation of food and blood, heartburn
-
reduction of weight without trying.
Risk factors:
- drinking alcohol, smoking, drinking very hot liquids
- bile reflux
- eating few fruits and vegetables
- gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- having precancerous changes in the cells of the esophagus (Barrett’s esophagus)
- undergoing radiation treatment to the chest or upper abdomen
Diagnostic procedures:
- Endoscopy of the esophagus
- Endoscopic ultrasonography
- CT
- Positron Emission Tomography
- Biopsy
The stages of esophageal cancer are:
- Stage I – occurs only in the superficial layers of cells (mucosa)
- Stage II – The cancer spread in deeper layers and may have spread to nearby lymph nodes
- Stage III – has spread to all layers of the wall of esophagus and in proximate tissues or lymph nodes
- Stage IV – cover other parts of body.
Treatment:
-
Surgical treatment
- Laparoscopic esophagectomy – the removal of the esophagus
- Conventional esophagectomy – the removal of the esophagus with abdominal approach
-
Conservatively treatment
- Radiotherapy and chemotherapy – can lead to regression of the disease
-
Palliative treatment
-
Applied when the case is inoperable
-
Removal of the stenosis by laser therapy – laser endoscopic recanalization
-
Endoscopic stenting
-
PEG – tube (percutaneous endoscopic controlled gastrostomy)
-
Gastrostomy – for complete stenosis.
-