If a patient has cancer of the esophagus, the doctor will do more tests will be done to find out if the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This is called staging. To plan treatment, a doctor needs to know the stage of the disease. Stage 0 or carcinoma in situ - Stage 0 cancer of the esophagus is very early cancer. Cancer is found only in the first layer of cells in the lining of the esophagus.
Treatment is usually surgery to remove the tumor.
Stage I - Cancer has only penetrated a small distance into the wall of the esophagus and has not spread to nearby tissues, lymph nodes, or other organs. Chemotherapy plus radiation therapy. Surgery may be performed after other therapy is completed. A clinical trial of surgery with or without radiation therapy. Clinical trials of chemotherapy and radiation therapy with surgery.