There are two kinds of esophageal cancer, squamous cell esophageal cancer and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cell esophagus cancer accounts for up to 95 percent of all cases of esophagus cancer worldwide.
Squamous cells are the flat cells that line different internal parts of the body, including the esophagus. The esophagus or food pipe is a tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach and is responsible for the passage of food from the mouth to the stomach. When the squamous cells inside the esophagus become cancerous, it is referred to as squamous cell esophageal cancer.
Squamous cell esophageal cancer is linked to factors such as smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, and chewing tobacco. Diet may also be a contributory cause of squamous cell esophageal cancer. Studies show that people who consume lesser amounts off fresh fruit and vegetables and an increased amount of hot liquid foods such as soups and hot beverages face an increased risk of developing squamous cell esophageal cancer.
When the squamous cells of the esophagus begin to develop a malignancy, it is termed as Stage 0 of esophageal cancer. At this stage, there are no readily apparent symptoms. In fact, squamous cell esophageal cancer symptoms rarely become apparent until the disease has entered Stage 3, which is when it begins to infect the surrounding lymph nodes. At this stage, the patient will usually exhibit symptoms such as inability to swallow food, pain while swallowing, rapid weight loss, hoarseness of voice, and vomiting blood.
Most patients will usually consult a doctor once these symptoms become apparent. Diagnosis is made on the basis of an endoscopic biopsy, CAT scan, or by the insertion of a chemical dye. Once the cancer has been confirmed, the treatment process can be begun. However, since in most cases the disease is only identified when it has spread from the esophagus, squamous cell esophageal cancer prognosis is not good.
Although surgery is a viable option during the earlier stages of the cancer, at the later stages the cancer would spread too far into the body to be treated by surgery. In such cases, a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is usually used to shrink the cancer cells and retard the progress of the disease. Another squamous cell esophageal cancer treatment that is becoming increasingly popular is Neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In this treatment method, a combination of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy is followed up by surgery. The chemotherapy and radiation therapy shrinks the cancerous cells so that they can be removed through surgery.
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