Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Cancer - esophagus
Symptoms
- Backwards movement of food through the esophagus and possibly mouth (regurgitation)
- Chest pain unrelated to eating
-
Difficulty swallowing solids or liquids Heartburn Vomiting blood - Weight loss
Signs and tests
Tests used to help diagnose esophageal cancer may include:
Barium swallow -
Chest MRI orthoracic CT (usually used to help determine the stage of the disease) -
Endoscopic ultrasound (also sometimes used to determine the stage of disease) -
Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and biopsy - PET scan (sometimes useful for determining the stage of disease, and whether surgery is possible)
Stool testing may show small amounts of blood in the stool.
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Esophageal cancer Treatment
Review Date: 01/31/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of
Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San
Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
