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Esophageal Cancer

  • Chapter
Oncology

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Abstract

Esophageal cancer is a notoriously difficult cancer to treat. Locoregional therapies, such as surgery and radiotherapy, are hampered by the anatomic proximity of the esophagus to vital structures, its rich and multidirectional lymphatic plexus, and, typically, by the late stage of symptomatic disease. Currently available systemic therapies, such as chemotherapy, are effective but they leave much to be desired. Chemotherapy’s effectiveness, perhaps surprisingly, relates in large measure to its synergism with radiotherapy at the locoregional level. All the major treatment modalities are hampered by the typical patient’s inability to easily tolerate aggressive therapy, but this is especially so for surgical therapy. One only has to contrast the rigors of esophagectomy, especially after chemoradiation, with the tolerability of breast cancer surgery or right hemicolectomy, to see this point. Taking these factors together, esophageal cancer remains one of the most difficult cancers for an oncologist of any discipline to treat and one of the most difficult malignant illnesses that a patient can face. Sadly, it is also a cancer that is rapidly increasing in incidence, at least in the Western world.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    John D. Urschel MD, MA, FRCSC (Lecturer)

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  1. John D. Urschel MD, MA, FRCSC
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Surgery Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Alfred E. Chang MD (Hugh Cabot Professor of Surgery and Chief) (Hugh Cabot Professor of Surgery and Chief)

  2. Breast Oncology Program, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Daniel F. Hayes MD (Clinical Director) (Clinical Director)

  3. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Harvey I. Pass MD (Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Head) (Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Head)

  4. Thoracic Oncology, New York University School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Harvey I. Pass MD (Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Head) (Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Head)

  5. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, USA

    Richard M. Stone MD (Associate Professor and Clinical Director) (Associate Professor and Clinical Director)

  6. Adult Leukemia Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Richard M. Stone MD (Associate Professor and Clinical Director) (Associate Professor and Clinical Director)

  7. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, USA

    Patricia A. Ganz MD (American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, Director and Professor) (American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, Director and Professor)

  8. Schools of Public Health and Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Patricia A. Ganz MD (American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, Director and Professor) (American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, Director and Professor)

  9. Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Timothy J. Kinsella MD (Vincent K. Smith Professor and Chairman) (Vincent K. Smith Professor and Chairman)

  10. Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, WI, USA

    Joan H. Schiller MD (Melanie Heald Professor of Medical Oncology) (Melanie Heald Professor of Medical Oncology)

  11. Health Media Research Laboratory, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, USA

    Victor J. Strecher PhD, MPH (Professor and Director and Associate Director) (Professor and Director and Associate Director)

  12. Cancer Prevention and Control, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Victor J. Strecher PhD, MPH (Professor and Director and Associate Director) (Professor and Director and Associate Director)

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© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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Urschel, J.D. (2006). Esophageal Cancer. In: Chang, A.E., et al. Oncology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-31056-8_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-31056-8_40

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