How Is Esophageal Cancer Treated?

Patients who may be suffering from esophageal cancer (EC) can have their doctor perform a number of tests to determine whether cancerous cells exists. Treatment can only follow a clear diagnosis. For example, a physician might ask the patient to drink a solution that contains barium. The barium coats the esophagus and allows him or her to better examine the area through x-rays. This test is called a barium swallow.

An esophagoscopy may also be performed. A physician will insert an endoscope into the esophagus (after an anesthetic has been administered) to look for an abnormal growth. If he or she finds such a growth, tissue is collected for further study (called a biopsy). A diagnosis often follows the biopsy.

In this article, we’ll explore how esophageal cancer is treated after it has been properly diagnosed. We’ll explain the different stages of the disease as well as the four most common forms of treatment used today.

Stages I Through IV

Once esophageal cancer has been diagnosed, the doctor will identify how far it has spread – if it has at all. This will influence the manner of treatment that is used. In Stage I, the cancerous cells are still localized within the esophagus and are found within the outer lining. In Stage II, the affected area may include deeper portions of the lining. The cancerous cells may have also begun to spread to the lymph nodes. Stage III is characterized by a further advance of the disease into the deepest portions of the esophagus. When the disease has begun spreading to other sites throughout the body, it has reached Stage IV.

4 Treatment Strategies

In most cases, a surgical procedure called esophagectomy is performed. During this procedure, a portion of the esophagus is removed. The remaining portion of the organ is connected (through a tube or the intestine) to the stomach. Chemotherapy is also common. If the disease has spread, the chemicals are administered orally or by injection to reach any affected sites through the bloodstream.

A doctor might also use radiation therapy to destroy cancerous cells. This form of treatment can be administered internally with catheters and wires, or externally by placing a radiation emitting machine next to the patient’s body. Laser treatment can also be used to target and destroy cancerous cells, though it is far less effective once the disease has reached Stage IV. Doctors occasionally use photodynamic therapy in which chemicals are absorbed into the affected area. Then, a special light is used to activate the chemicals, thereby destroying the cancerous cells.

Like all forms of cancer, esophageal cancer is much simpler to treat if it is diagnosed while in its early stages. Once it spreads to other sites in the body, the available treatment strategies become limited as doctors are forced to take a systemic approach.

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