Once a diagnosis of cancer is made, the extent of the disease will help to determine appropriate therapy. Staging the cancer is an attempt to find out if any other parts of the body are involved with the cancer and help guide treatment and also play a role in predicting prognosis. Occasionally, biopsies of nearby lymph nodes that look suspicious on x-ray are taken to help stage disease and allows doctors to administer the most appropriate therapies. Esophageal cancer is difficult to cure unless it is discovered in the earlier stages, before it has begun to spread. Unfortunately, early esophageal cancers are seldom symptomatic and the disease is usually advanced at the time of diagnosis.
Esophageal cancer is treated with surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Doctors may choose different combinations of these treatments based on the specifics of each case. Most of the time, surgical treatment involves removal of the tumor with a portion of the esophagus. There are several types of incisions that may be used and, usually, the stomach is used to reconnect the upper esophagus to the rest of the gastrointestinal tract. Surgeons choose the type of incision and reconstruction based on what will offer the patient the best chance for cure. Often, patients with esophageal cancer have a poor nutritional status and other medical problems that may limit the procedure that they will be able to tolerate.