Everybody who had high levels of the gene in their blood died within 18 months. According to Meltzer, it may be possible to use this test to watch for a return of the disease. When patients didn't have a recurrence, the levels didn't go up. The idea is, if you look soon enough, you might be able to treat the recurrence. Whereas if we had markers that could tell us who is at greater risk than the others, that would be a huge advance.
Esophageal cancer affects the tube connecting the throat to the stomach.
This year, roughly 12,300 Americans will develop the disease, and roughly 12,100 will die. Men are three to five times more likely than women to be diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and blacks are at three times the risk of this disease compared to whites. Symptoms include difficulty or pain when swallowing, severe weight loss, pain in the throat or back, behind the breastbone or between the shoulder blades, hoarseness or chronic cough, vomiting, or coughing up blood. But unfortunately, most patients seek help only after swallowing is impaired, by which time the cancer is already well established. What To Do To find out more about esophageal cancer, check out the National Cancer Institute or the American Cancer Society , or visit the Mayo Clinic .