The standard for esophageal cancer staging CT is like this

Esophageal cancer is a digestive tract disease with a relatively high incidence rate nowadays. The severity of esophageal cancer patients is often detected through CT. So what are the CT standards for esophageal cancer staging? Most people don't quite understand this. In fact, according to the CT status, esophageal cancer is divided into the following four stages. Only in the first and second stages is surgical cure most effective, so patients with esophageal cancer must seek medical treatment in time.

CT examination is of great significance in the clinical staging of esophageal cancer, the selection of treatment methods and the prognosis evaluation.

CT is not very useful in the diagnosis of early esophageal cancer. However, most esophageal cancers diagnosed by examination with obvious clinical signs are of the middle or late stage. In 1981, Moss et al proposed the CT staging criteria for esophageal cancer:

Stage I: CT shows an intracavitary mass with no obvious thickening of the esophageal wall and no mediastinal extension or metastasis;

Stage II: CT shows esophageal wall thickening of more than 5 mm, but no mediastinal extension, and the fat layer still exists;

Stage III: CT shows invasion of surrounding tissues and possible regional lymph node metastasis;

Stage IV: CT shows distant metastasis.

For stage I and II cases, radical surgery is more effective, with a five-year survival rate of over 80%. Patients in stage IV are not suitable for surgical treatment and can only undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy. More than half of stage III patients cannot undergo surgical treatment and should first undergo radiotherapy or chemotherapy followed by selective surgical treatment.

Symptoms of esophagitis

1. Burning or pain behind the sternum

A burning sensation or pain behind the sternum is the main symptom of this disease. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour after eating and can be induced by semi-recumbent position, forward bending or strenuous exercise. The severity of the burning sensation is not necessarily consistent with the severity of the lesion. In severe esophagitis, especially in those with scarring, there may be no or only a mild burning sensation.

2. Difficulty swallowing

In the early stages, intermittent dysphagia may often occur due to secondary esophageal spasm caused by esophagitis. In the later stage, due to the formation of esophageal scarring and stricture, the burning sensation and burning pain gradually decrease and are replaced by permanent difficulty in swallowing, which may cause a feeling of blockage or pain when eating solid food.

3. Bleeding and anemia

If the patient suffers from esophagitis and the condition is serious, the esophageal mucosal erosion will occur, leading to bleeding symptoms, and most of the bleeding is chronic and small. If the bleeding is long-term or heavy, it can lead to iron deficiency anemia.

4. Acid reflux

After meals, when lying forward, or sleeping in bed at night, acidic liquid or food refluxes from the stomach and esophagus into the pharynx or mouth. This symptom often appears before the burning sensation or burning pain behind the sternum.