Esophageal cancer is medically called esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is one of the major malignant tumors that threatens the health of Chinese residents. Its incidence rate ranks sixth among all malignant tumors, and its mortality rate ranks fourth. Compared with liver cancer, gastric cancer and other malignant tumors of the digestive tract, esophageal cancer does not reach the advanced stage quietly. Some symptoms or early warning signs can appear in the early stage. If discovered and treated in time, it can be cured. Purpose. 1. The first sign of esophageal cancer: high-risk groups.

People in high-incidence areas. The incidence of esophageal cancer in my country has obvious regional characteristics. High-incidence areas are mainly concentrated near the Taihang Mountains: Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Anhui, and northern Jiangsu. Other high-incidence areas are related to immigrants from the Central Plains, including Nanchong, Sichuan, and Yanting, Sichuan. , Shantou, Guangdong, and Fuzhou, Fujian.

There are more men than women with esophageal cancer, and the incidence in rural areas is higher than that in cities. The peak age of incidence is between 45 and 80 years old. Smoking and drinking people. Esophageal cancer in my country is mainly squamous cell carcinoma. Long-term smoking and excessive drinking are important causes of squamous cell carcinoma. The incidence of smoking increases by 3 to 8 times, and the incidence of drinking increases by 7 to 50 times. Drinking is more risky than smoking. If tobacco and alcohol are not used, Separation of families and the superposition of high-risk factors can only make matters worse and the risks greatly increase. People who have eaten high levels of nitrite. Nitrite is the precursor of nitrite amines, which are known carcinogens. In areas with a high incidence of esophageal cancer, the levels of nitrite amines in food and drinking water are significantly higher than in other areas. Nitrite is widely present in pickled foods, and long-term consumption of pickled foods is related to the incidence of esophageal cancer. Long-term intake of moldy food. Moldy food contains aflatoxin, Fusarium and other fungi, which often work together with nitrite amines to cause cancer. There are precancerous lesions of the esophagus. Diseases such as Barrett's esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease, corrosive esophageal burns, and achalasia can all lead to an increased incidence of esophageal cancer. Long-term consumption of hot food: Long-term consumption of food with a temperature exceeding 65°C can burn the esophagus, causing local inflammation and thermal stimulation, which is a promoting and inducing factor for esophageal cancer. Obesity is a major risk factor for esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer has a familial tendency.

Based on the above-mentioned high-risk groups, those who live in high-incidence areas, have a family history of esophageal cancer, are at a high-incidence age, smoke and drink for a long time, eat pickled moldy food for a long time, are obese or have precancerous lesions, etc., are at high risk. People who suffer from esophageal cancer should pay attention to their physical condition and be wary of esophageal cancer. This can be regarded as the first warning sign. 2. The appearance of esophageal cancer symptoms is the second warning sign.

Early symptoms of esophageal cancer:

Retrosternal discomfort or retrosternal foreign body sensation. This is a common symptom in the early stages. It often occurs due to swallowing solid food. The symptoms may not appear continuously after the first appearance. They may reappear after a few days or months. Sometimes there is a burning sensation, or a pinprick or pulling sensation. pain.

Feeling of difficulty in passing food. When swallowing food, you feel that the food does not pass smoothly, and there is a slow, stagnant or mild choking sensation, which will be relieved or disappeared after swallowing liquid food, such as drinking water.

These early symptoms may be mild or severe, and have different durations. The important thing is that they are not specific. Similar symptoms may also occur in other esophageal lesions, such as achalasia and gastroesophageal reflux. Sickness etc. If we pay attention to it, we can diagnose it with a gastroscopy, and even early-stage cancer can be cured by tumor resection under a gastroscopy. The 5-year survival rate can reach 90%, and the treatment effect is very good.

But if typical symptoms appear in the later stages and are not treated, the patient will generally die within a year. What are the symptoms in the middle and late stages?

Progressive dysphagia. This is the most characteristic and dominant symptom. When cancer cells penetrate the mucosa and grow toward the esophageal lumen, the esophageal lumen becomes narrow, preventing food from passing through. It started with choking on solid food, then gradually worsened, and gradually progressed to the point where it was difficult to even drink water and swallow saliva. The picture below is an X-ray barium meal of various stages of esophageal cancer, showing that the esophageal lumen is getting narrower.

Pain. Pain areas are often located behind the sternum, neck, shoulder blades and back. Middle and advanced esophageal cancer often causes persistent and severe pain, and painkillers are often required to relieve pain.

Vomiting blood and bloody stools. When esophageal cancer involves the gastroesophageal junction, it can cause hematemesis or bloody stools.

Weight loss. Due to the consumption of tumor cells, long-term dysphagia leads to malnutrition, significant weight loss, and severe weight loss.

Other symptoms.

Tumors that compress the recurrent laryngeal nerve can cause hoarseness, invade the septal nerve and cause intractable hiccups, metastasize to the liver and cause jaundice, and metastasize to bones and cause corresponding bone pain, etc. 4. The detection of positive symptoms by auxiliary examination is the third early warning signal.

Endoscopy, this is the most important examination: gastroscopy is usually used, inserting a fiberscope into the esophagus, and the endoscopist "seeing is believing". When suspicious parts are found, samples can be taken and sent to pathology. Sexual examination confirmed the diagnosis. Early esophageal cancer can also be resected directly under the Ned.

Barium meal X-ray: This is the most direct, simplest and most economical examination method for diagnosing esophageal cancer. Barium meal X-ray can detect early superficial mucosal lesions, but has greater diagnostic value for intermediate and advanced esophageal cancer.

CT: This is one of the better methods for staging and prognosis of esophageal cancer.

MRl (magnetic resonance imaging): It is better than CT in showing local tissue structure and is more effective in assessing tumor staging.

B-ultrasound: cannot show esophageal lesions.

Serum tumor markers: immature

Summary: Early-stage esophageal cancer is easy to treat and can be cured with timely treatment. However, the prognosis of late-stage esophageal cancer is very poor. We must pay attention to the risk of esophageal cancer. Early warning signs. The first warning signal is for high-risk groups of esophageal cancer; the second warning signal is the occurrence of clinical symptoms of esophageal cancer; and the third warning signal is abnormalities in auxiliary examinations, especially endoscopy, barium meal angiography, and CT examinations.