Esophageal Carcinoma

Esophageal Carcinoma – General Information

The disorder commonly referred to as Esophageal Carcinoma has been first studied and described in the early 1800. However, the first successful resection of this type of cancer was reported in 1913. The surgeon was called Frank Torek. In 1930, two surgical procedures have been undergone by patients who were suffering from this type of esophageal cancer. They were both successful, as for the very first time in history transthoracic esophagectomies have been performed, with continent reconstruction. The two surgeons were Marshall (from the U.S.A.) and Ohsawa (from Japan). This disorder (Esophageal Carcinoma) affects the esophageal mucosa. Subsequently, this medical condition has the tendency to invade the muscular layer as well as the submucosa. In the later stages of this type of cancer, the aorta, the tracheobronchial tree and the recurrent laryngeal nerve are also affected. When the cancer reaches metastasize, the condition is expanded to the patient’s lungs, liver, and / or periesophageal lymph nodes. Studies have shown that women are more prone to developing this form of cancer (Esophageal Carcinoma), as the female to male ratio is of 1:7. Furthermore, it ahs been shown that elderly patients are more prone to suffering from this type of cancer, especially those aged between 60 and 70 years old. Even if most patients are not familiar with this form of clinical cancer, this disorder is the seventh deadly cancer that has been reported so far. In some parts of the world, the incidence of this medical condition is very high (for example, in southern Russia, northern Iran and northern China 30-800 patients out of 100,000 develop this disorder).

Esophageal Carcinoma – Symptoms

The esophagus is a part of the human organism, a link between the stomach and the throat. It is considered to be a part of the patient’s digestive tract. This organ is found between the spine and the trachea. The esophagus is meant to ensure the appropriate movement of food along it. In this way, the food that one ingests gets into the patient’s stomach, where another process of the digestion is bound to occur. If a patient suffers from Esophageal Carcinoma, his or her esophagus will not be able to complete this task in an appropriate manner. Thus, difficult swallowing occurs, a symptom which may be accompanied by mild to severe pain. After studying and hearing patients who were suffering from this type of cancer, physicians were able to complete a list of the potential (most common) symptoms that are triggered by this medical condition. One can find in this list signs and / or symptoms such as: hoarseness, choking during the main meals or during snacks, vomiting, heartburn, indigestion, coughing, and pain (that can be located either behind the breastbone or in the throat). However, all patients ought to be aware of the fact that the symptoms that we have listed above (plus other, more uncommon signs which we have not mentioned here) only appear in the late stages of the cancer. This is why patients with Esophageal Carcinoma fail to be given the appropriate therapy for this medical condition in time. Unfortunately, due to this fact, this type of cancer presents a very small prognosis, as less than 15% of all individuals who suffer from this disease manage to live more than 5 years after their condition has been diagnosed.

Esophageal Carcinoma – Treatment

In order to ease the patient’s suffering (his or her signs and symptoms), the individual will have to be prescribed a therapy for his or her dysphagia. However, in most cases of patients who present Esophageal Carcinoma, the medical procedure known as esophagectomy (also called esophageal resection) is still a vital part of the basic therapy. This medical procedure for Esophageal Carcinoma is generally performed with the help of a cervical and of an abdominal incision, along with a mediastinal dissection (the blunt type). The procedure is generally done through the patient’s esophageal hiatus. Another way to perform this surgery is to use a right thoracic and an abdominal incision.

Between the two surgery options (for patients with Esophageal Carcinoma) that we have listed above, THE (transhiatal esophagectomy) is able to give the patient the chance to avoid an unpleasant chest incision, as this is known to sometimes trigger severe discomfort (in some rare cases, the chest incision has determined damage to the normal respiratory function, thus worsening the state of the patient). While some physicians question the effectiveness of THE compared to that of another medical procedure known as TTE (transthoracic esophagectomy), after several studies have been performed, it has been shown that both surgical procedures probably have the same effectiveness, as it has been determined that the type of operation that the patient undergoes is not as responsible for his health condition as the stage that the disease has reached until proper diagnosis. For further information regarding the proper therapy method that you should follow or the surgery that you should undergo in order to treat your Esophageal Carcinoma, we advise you to seek your physician’s guidance.