Overview of esophageal cancer

Abstract

Esophageal cancer is a male-dominant aggressive malignancy and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are the two predominant histological subtypes with varying geographical and racial distribution. Globally, squamous cell carcinoma remains the most common histological type. In Western countries, however, adenocarcinoma has become the leading histological subtype, corresponding to a rise in the incidence of obesity, gastro-esophageal reflux disease and Barrett's esophagus. The risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma conferred by Barrett's esophagus depends on factors such as genomic instability, race and gender of the patient. Treatment requires a multidisciplinary team approach and optimal therapy is still debated. Endoscopic therapies, including radiofrequency ablation, endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic sub mucosal dissection, have become the standard treatment modality for Barrett's esophagus and early carcinoma. Multimodal treatment, which includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy followed by surgical resection or without surgical resection, in varying orders remains the main mode of treatment for most patients. Minimally invasive surgical approaches have become the standard for esophagectomy and the current literature has demonstrated similar oncological outcomes with reduced morbidity. Recently, there has been a modest improvement in the overall survival of patients with esophageal cancer.

Exosomal Sonic Hedgehog derived from cancer‐associated fibroblasts promotes proliferation and migration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

“…Despite recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of ESCC, the final prognosis remains unsatisfactory. The overall 5‐year survival rate of advance ESCC is about 10%‐20% . The absence of early symptoms, high rates of local invasion, and lymphatic metastasis largely contributes to the unfavorable prognosis of ESCC, thus revealing the underlying mechanism of ESCC and discovery of new drug targets is of vital importance.…”

Targeting the overexpressed USP7 inhibits esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell growth by inducing NOXA‐mediated apoptosis

“…Esophageal cancer ranks the 6th cancer‐related death in the world . ESCC is a common tissue subtype of esophageal cancer in Asia, including China .…”

“…Esophageal cancer ranks the 6th cancer‐related death in the world . ESCC is a common tissue subtype of esophageal cancer in Asia, including China . Diagnosis at late stage and drug resistance are the main causes for this refractory disease .…”

Incidence of Esophageal Cancer in Madina Hospital, Somalia

“…5 A similar trend has been reported in other Western countries. 6 Unlike esophageal adenocarcinoma, the incidence does not differ significantly between white and African. 7 Anecdotal reports show that the number of esophageal cancers in the hospitals of Somalia is high, and most of these patients are diagnosed in late stages leading to a loss of the chance for a surgical treatment.…”