Esophagus Cancer Treatment Information

ESOPHAGUS CANCER TREATMENT INFORMATION

What is the Esophagus?

The esophagus is a hollow tube that transfers food from the throat to the stomach, that is the "food tube". The tube starts just below the "epiglottis", the flap that keeps food from going into our trachea (air pipe) when we swallow. It ends at where it joins with the upper portion of the stomach, called the "cardia". The actual area of coinage is called the "gastroesophageal junction". The esophagus is muscular, to help propel food downward with swallowing. It has a complex array of nerves ("plexus") that work to coordinate the swallowing motion. The upper 2/3 of the esophagus has a inner lining ("mucosa") of a special type of cell, called "squamous" cells, which are also found in the mouth and anal region. These cells resist abrasion and heat and are able to heal quickly if damaged, say by the sharp edges on food. The lower 1/3 of the esophagus has an inner lining of a different type of mucosa called "columnar" cells.

This becomes important for considering the cancers that arise in the esophagus. If the lower portion of the esophagus becomes infiltrated with intestinal-like glands, as it is prone to do with prolonged irritation, then this is called "Barrett's" esophagus and is a risk factor to get cancer, as will be seen.

The esophagus has an outer lining, called the "adventitia", which surrounds the muscular layers and separates the esophagus from other nearby organs. The heart is directly behind the middle esophagus, while the windpipe ("trachea") is directly in front of it. The esophagus is also very close to the liver, lungs, and major blood vessels from the heart ("aorta and venal cava"). The esophagus receives most of it's blood from the aorta and drains it to the liver and venal cava. A system of "drainage channels" runs through the esophagus, between the mucosal and muscular layers. These are called "lymph channels" and act to purify the blood serum, by transporting it to nearby "lymph nodes" (glands) where the serum is filtered. Both the blood supply, and lymph channels and glands, can act as conduits to spread infection or cancer. This spread may be along the length of the esophagus, around it's diameter, to local lymph nodes or organs, or to distant body areas.

When a person has shrinkage ("cirrhosis") of the liver due to excessive alcohol or chronic infections, it places back pressure on the blood draining from the esophagus. This results in swelling of the blood vessels in the lower esophagus, called "varices". These may spontaneously bleed when there is a lot a pressure between the liver and esophagus ("portal hypertension") and is a medical emergency. Other common problems with the esophagus (besides cancer) are "rings" or "webs"-- areas of protrusion into the normally hollow interior ("lumen") of the esophagus where food can get caught. A "stricture" is an area of narrowing of the esophagus, often from scarring from ingested chemicals (i.e. lye). Achalasia is a disease where the nerves in the esophagus don't coordinate swallowing properly, so food gets caught there. An inflammation is "esophagitis", caused by bacteria, virus, or fungi, drugs or radiation.

What is Esophagus Cancer?

The esophagus, like all body tissues, is made up of individual cells. Normally, cells within the forming esophagus divide and grow very rapidly in the womb, in early childhood, and through puberty. In adulthood, new cells are only formed to replace those which have died from injury, old age or disease. The division of cells to produce new ones is under tight control by the "genes" within each cell. These genes are made up of DNA, and if it becomes damaged, the cell may start dividing out of control.Esophagus cancer starts in a single cell which has become abnormal. This cells produces millions, and eventually billions, of copies of itself. The copies are called"clones". These clones fail to function as normal esophagus tissue, but instead divert resources from healthy cells to fuel their own growth. When there are about 1 billion cells, they form a clump, or "tumor" 1/2 inch across. A "tumor" merely means a swelling, it can be caused by infection, inflammation, cancer or whatever. If a tumor only grows in it's local area (even very large) but does not have the capacity to spread to distant body areas, it is called"benign" and isnot cancer. If, however, the tumor has the ability to spread to distant body areas, it is called "malignant" andthis is cancer. The actual process of spread is called"metastasis", and can occur to any area of the body.

The most common type of benign esophageal tumor arises from the muscular layer, and is called a "leiomyoma". Unfortunately, a quickly growing tumor within the esophagus is most likely to be cancerous.

How Common is Esophagus Cancer?

There were12,500 new cases of esophagus cancer and 11,000 deaths attribute-
bale to the disease in 1996. It Accounts for 5% of Gastrointestinal cancers and about 1% of all new cancers in the U.S.A. The overall number of cases each year is steadily increasing. In some places, like Northern China, it is 10 times more common than in North America. It is the 7th most common cancer worldwide. In the U.S.A. men are affected more than twice as commonly as women, and Black men 3 times as often as White men. The average patient is 60 years old.

What are the Types of Esophagus Cancer?

The most common type had always been "squamous cell carcinoma" arising from
the upper 2/3 of the esophagus. Now, however, there has been a dramatic increase in another type, called "adenocarcinoma", which tends to arise in the lower 1/3 of the esophagus. Currently, the number of each of these two types of cancer cases is about equal, and together they make up nearly 100% of today's esophagus cancers. White men tend to get the disease more commonly in the lower esophagus, while Black men get it in the middle and upper esophagus.

There are occasional rare cancers found in the esophagus, such as "sarcomas" which arise from the muscular wall, "cylindroma" which begins from glands, and "lymphoma" that starts from the body's immune system cells within the esophagus.

What Causes, or Increases the Risk for Esophagus Cancer?

Like any cancer, the exact reason why one person gets esophagus cancer and another does not remainsunknown. However, various "risk factors" have been noted to increase the risk for developing esophagus cancer.

People don't think much about their esophagus (food tube) unless it gets diseased. Esophagus cancer used to be uniformly fatal, but newer treatments offer more hope of survival and comfort than ever before.

It is critical to get the right treatment for esophagus cancer- this can literally make the difference between life and death. Understanding your choices gives you the peace-of-mind of knowing that you have done everything possible to fight esophagus cancer successfully.

All types of cancer are difficult, though esophagus and lung cancers like mesothelioma tend to be the most devastating. Mesothelioma and other asbestos related cancers often are expensive to treat, so mesothelioma attorneys can help you receive compensation.

CancerAnswers's material explains, in plain English, the definition, types, frequency, symptoms, evaluation, historic treatment and latest effective treatment for esophagus cancer. We describe surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and tell you their results. We tell you everything you need to know to make the right choices today to deal with an esophagus cancer problem.

This is just an excerpt of CancerAnswers's report on Esophagus Cancer. Much more, including latest can be sent to you by mail when you order the complete Esophagus Cancer transcript at a nominal cost. Thank you for using CancerAnswers as your information resource.