Can esophageal tumors be cured?

Esophageal tumor is one of the most common malignant tumors in medicine, and the incidence rate of this disease has been increasing in recent years. The reason why the number is getting higher and higher is that the diagnosis rate is too low in the early stages and there are no appropriate medical means to make a diagnosis. So can esophageal tumors be cured? This depends on the individual's condition. Some esophageal tumors will be more troublesome if they metastasize in the late stage, and the chance of survival will be lower. If you feel unwell, you should go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible.

Clinical manifestations

Early esophageal cancer may have no symptoms. When the esophageal lumen is narrowed to < 14 mm, the most common symptom is dysphagia (difficulty swallowing or a sensation of obstruction as food moves down the esophagus); patients first have difficulty swallowing solid foods, then semisolid foods, and finally liquid foods and saliva; the progression of these stages suggests a progressive malignant process rather than spasmodic, benign, or peptic strictures. Chest pain often radiates to the back.

Even if the patient has a normal appetite, weight loss is almost always present. Compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve can cause vocal cord paralysis and hoarseness. Compression of the sympathetic nerves can cause Horner's syndrome, and compression of nerves in other parts of the body can also cause spinal pain, hiccups, and diaphragmatic paralysis. Malignant pleural effusions and pulmonary metastases can cause dyspnea. Intraluminal tumors may cause odynophagia, vomiting, hematemesis, melena, iron deficiency anemia, pulmonary aspiration, cough, lung abscess, and pneumonia. Other symptoms include superior vena cava syndrome, malignant ascites, and bone pain.

Because the lymph of the entire esophagus is drained by the lymphatic plexus, lesions of the internal venous lymphatics, cervical lymphatics, supraclavicular lymphatics, diaphragmatic lymphatics and abdominal lymphatics may occur. The tumor often metastasizes to the lungs and liver and may even metastasize to distant sites (eg, bones, heart, brain, adrenal glands, kidneys, peritoneum).

treat

1. Surgery

Treatment for esophageal cancer can be surgical resection, and the choice of surgery depends on the location and size of the tumor, the experience of the surgeon, and the purpose of the operation.

2. Chemotherapy

Surgery can provide the longest remission period for patients under appropriate circumstances, and chemotherapy can prolong the survival of some patients.

3. Radiotherapy

External beam radiation therapy (RT) is usually used as the main treatment for patients who are not candidates for radical surgery, including those with advanced disease.

4. Other palliative surgeries