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Medical Author:

Robert J Fingerote, MD, MSc, BSc

Medical Editor:

Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM

Medical Editor:

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD

Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Cancer of the Esophagus Treatment

Treatment for esophageal cancer depends on the results of tests and your underlying health.

• People with advanced heart or lung disease may not be candidates for aggressive therapy.



• In many cases, the esophageal cancer has advanced too far for any available treatment to work.
  
  
  • In these cases, the doctor considers the following procedures:
    
    
    • Placing a metal or plastic tube (stent) in the esophagus to allow passage of food and liquids
    
    
    
    • Radiation therapy
    
    
    
    • Photodynamic therapy
    
    
    
    • Widening the esophagus or laser destruction of the esophageal tumor
  
  
  • In otherwise healthy people with localized disease, surgery may offer the best chance at long-term survival.
    
    
    • Surgery involves removing the diseased portion of the esophagus and connecting the remaining portion to the stomach.
    
    
    
    • Preoperative chemotherapy and radiation often accompany surgery.
    
    
    
    • Studies now under way will determine whether combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy without surgery is as effective as surgery in lengthening long-term survival.