How to diagnose recurrence of esophageal cancer

We know that the most typical symptom of esophageal cancer is dysphagia, and patients will feel very painful when swallowing. This is also a major symptom of pharyngitis, so many esophageal cancer patients will think that their condition is pharyngitis and do not pay attention to it. So, what is the difference between pharyngitis and esophageal cancer? And how to diagnose the recurrence of esophageal cancer?

Diagnosis of postoperative recurrence of esophageal cancer

Pharyngitis and esophageal cancer are two completely different diseases. The following are the main typical manifestations of esophageal cancer.

(1) Slow passage of food and a feeling of stagnation: After swallowing food, the food moves slowly and there is a feeling of stagnation. This is more common in the upper and middle esophagus. It is often mild at first, gradually worsens, and is accompanied by other symptoms. This is due to functional changes. It may also be due to the wider "cancer field" of esophageal cancer and the esophageal mucosa accompanied by varying degrees of chronic inflammation.

(2) Dryness and tightness of the throat: This is an abnormal feeling that may be caused by esophageal lesions causing the pharyngeal esophageal sphincter to contract in the opposite direction.

(3) Pain behind the sternum, stuffy discomfort or pain when swallowing: The pain may be burning, pricking or pulling. In the initial stage, the symptoms are mild and only occur intermittently, and each time may last for a short time. Drug treatment may relieve the symptoms. Later, the symptoms will worsen, recur repeatedly and last longer.

(4) Foreign body sensation in the esophagus: The location of the foreign body sensation is often consistent with the esophageal lesions. As the disease progresses, symptoms such as choking when swallowing food and even pain may appear. The cause of this symptom may be due to the congestion and swelling of the mucosa at the site of the esophageal lesions, which reduces the stimulation threshold of the esophageal submucosal nerve plexus.

(5) Pain under the xiphoid process or in the upper abdomen: It manifests as persistent dull pain or burning pain, which often occurs when swallowing food and weakens or disappears after eating. It is inconsistent with the location of the lesion. It may be caused by the lesion causing uncoordinated esophageal motility and strong spasmodic contraction of the cardiac sphincter.

Warm reminder: In fact, we need to pay special attention to esophageal cancer in our daily life, because the incidence and mortality of this disease have always been one of the highest among malignant tumors. Therefore, for this disease, what we need is to maintain good and healthy living habits.