Esophageal+Cancer

__ Esophageal Cancer __ [|Esophageal Cancer Powerpoint]

Statistics (2011):


 * About 17,460 esophageal cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S.
 * About 15,070 deaths from esophageal cancer in the U.S.
 * Risk of esophageal cancer in the U.S. is about 1 in 125 in men and about 1 in 400 in women.
 * About 15% to 20% of patients survive at least 5 years after diagnosis.
 * 10 to 100 times more common in other parts of the world, such as Africa and Asia.

Facts About Esophageal Cancer:
 * Malignant tumor in the esophagus (transfer tube for food from mouth to stomach)
 * Begins in the inner lining and grows outward
 * Commonly associated with gastric reflux disease
 * Two types:
 * Adenocarcinoma: found in the lower part of the esophagus. Most common
 * Squamous cell carcinoma: found in the upper part of the esophagus. Becoming less common among Americans

Diagnosis and Treatment: > Symptoms:
 * Three main ways to diagnose:
 * Barium Swallow: drink barium to assist with x-ray quality
 * Endoscopy: the doctor uses a thin, lighted tube (endoscope) to look down your esophagus[[image:http://www.cancer.umn.edu/cancerinfo/NCI/Media/CDR0000433292.jpg width="265" height="155" align="right"]]
 * Biopsy
 * The most common treatment is surgery (esophagectomy)
 * Radiation or chemotherapy can be used to make surgery easy, or to treat the cancer if it has metastized
 * To help a patient swallow, endoscopic dilation of the esophagus with a stent can be used
 * Regurgitation of food through the esophagus
 * Chest pain
 * Difficulty swallowing
 * Heartburn
 * Vomiting blood
 * Weight Loss
 * Hoarse voice or cough that lasts over 2 weeks

Risk Reduction:
 * Avoid tobacco
 * Avoid alcohol
 * Maintain a healthy weight
 * Eat many green and yellow fruits and vegetables
 * Use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Resources:
 * http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/EsophagusCancer/
 * http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth
 * http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/esophageal
 * http://www.medicinenet.com/esophageal_cancer/