Esophageal Cancer: Types, Symptoms and High Incidence in China

Esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor occurring in the mucosa of the esophagus and is one of the common malignant tumors of the digestive tract. The most pathological types of esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma, followed by undifferentiated carcinoma, with adenocarcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma and small cell carcinoma being less common.

China is a country with a high incidence and mortality rate of esophageal cancer. It is more common among middle-aged and elderly people, and the incidence rate in men is higher than that in women. In the early stage, esophageal cancer has no specific symptoms. Sometimes there may be slight discomfort in swallowing, a sense of stagnation during eating, foreign body sensation, burning sensation or mild pain, discomfort behind the sternum, or belching, hiccup, discomfort below or above the xiphoid process, etc. Patients in the middle and late stages often have progressive difficulty in swallowing, vomiting mucus or food, dull pain behind the sternum or on the back, bleeding, hoarseness, weight loss, etc. Some have other metastatic symptoms and signs such as supraclavicular lymphadenopathy.