Five preoperative examinations for esophageal cancer help determine the nature of the tumor

Before surgery, patients with esophageal cancer need to undergo some examinations to understand their condition and the functional status of their heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and other organs, as well as the nature of the cancer, in order to determine whether the patient can undergo surgery, how to undergo surgery, how big the surgical risks are, how to avoid surgical complications, etc. For example, five examinations such as X-ray esophageal barium swallow angiography, esophagoscopy, and esophageal cancer tumor markers can help doctors determine the nature of the patient's cancer and the local condition.

X-ray esophageal barium swallow

Esophageal barium meal examination can determine whether there are lesions in the esophagus, the location of the lesions, and the scope and degree of damage. Air-barium double contrast examination can more sensitively detect early small lesions and help improve the diagnostic accuracy of adenocarcinoma of the esophageal gastric junction.

Esophagoscopy (i.e. gastroscopy)

Gastroscopy can not only clearly check whether there are lesions on the esophagus, the location of the lesions, the scope and degree of damage, but more importantly, it can take biopsies to achieve the purpose of diagnosis; the use of ultrasonic esophagoscope can also understand and evaluate the invasion of esophageal cancer on the esophageal wall and surrounding organs and whether there is enlargement and metastasis of local lymph nodes.

Esophageal cancer tumor markers

Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragment (CyFRA21-1), and tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) have a certain auxiliary role in diagnosis.

Chest CT

Enhanced CT of the neck, chest, and abdomen should be used as a routine preoperative examination for esophageal cancer, mainly for clinical staging, resectability evaluation, and surgical approach selection of esophageal cancer. In addition, it has advantages in evaluating the local growth of the tumor, showing the extent of tumor invasion and its relationship with adjacent structures, and mediastinal or abdominal lymph node metastasis.

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy can determine whether the trachea and bronchi are invaded by cancer cells.