In China, about 50% of patients with esophageal cancer have progressed to advanced stages by the time they are first diagnosed, losing the opportunity for surgical radical treatment. Compared with colorectal and gastric cancers, the expected survival time for advanced esophageal squamous carcinoma is relatively short, with a natural disease duration of 6 to 8 months and a 5-year survival rate of less than 15%. In other words, it is still difficult to get a radical cure for advanced esophageal cancer.
However, even if advanced esophageal cancer is detected, don’t despair, there are still many treatment options available. Although the probability of a cure is extremely low, it can control the disease, improve the discomfort such as difficulty swallowing and pain, improve the quality of life, and maximize life expectancy.
What are the treatment options for advanced esophageal cancer?
Clinically, comprehensive treatment is generally based on chemotherapy and radiotherapy, often combined with local interventional therapy and treatment of tumor-related complications.
You may also want to consider a trial of immunotherapy.
There is considerable debate about whether to combine targeted therapy drugs.
Specifically:
Chemotherapy and immunotherapy are both systemic therapies that kill tumor cells from a holistic perspective and provide relatively potent control of primary sites and metastatic lymph nodes, but have relatively limited effect on distant metastases such as liver, intracranial, and bone.
Immunotherapy and targeted therapy are relatively new treatments. The former improves the function of your entire immune system, mobilizing your body’s “army” to revive morale and fight the tumor; the latter is like a “missile” that strikes cancer cells with precision. Scientists are still exploring the efficacy of these two new treatments for esophageal cancer. There are clinical trials of immunotherapy in China, and if you have the opportunity, you are encouraged to participate in the clinical studies.
Distant metastases from esophageal cancer are often accompanied by complications such as pain and jaundice, which require local killing of the tumor in a relatively short period of time with the help of radiotherapy and interventional therapy.
For specific information on the various treatment options, read the following article:
The specific treatment indicated for each patient needs to be considered by the physician based on his or her age, general condition, tumor load size, metastatic site, and other factors.
Co-written by:
Dr. Liu Chang, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital