Screening is risky.
Making the decision to screen can be difficult. Not all screenings are beneficial, and most of them are risky. Before you have any cancer screening, you may want to discuss the screening with your doctor. It is important to know the risks of screening and whether the test will reduce the risk of dying from cancer.
Overwhelming scientific evidence in this country shows that upper GI endoscopy is an effective means of screening for esophageal cancer and that endoscopy is better than esophageal adenocarcinoma for detecting squamous esophageal cancer. Therefore, upper GI endoscopy is an effective way to prevent the occurrence of esophageal cancer.
Risks of esophageal cancer screening include.
Detecting esophageal cancer does not necessarily improve health or help patients live longer.
Screening may not improve your health or help you live longer if you have advanced esophageal cancer or if the cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
There are cancers that do not cause symptoms or are life-threatening, but these cancers may be treated if they are found at screening. It is also unknown if treatment will help you live longer than if it does not, and treating cancer can have serious side effects.
False-negative test results are possible.
A screening test result may show normal even if you already have esophageal cancer. People who have symptoms but have a false-negative test result (actually have cancer, but the test results suggest normal, i.e., no cancer) may delay seeking medical attention.
It is possible to have a false-positive test result.
Screening results can show abnormalities even if you don’t have cancer. False-positive test results (tests that suggest cancer when there is no cancer) can lead to anxiety, followed by additional testing (such as biopsies), which is often risky.
The test itself may also have side effects.
Esophagoscopy and biopsy may have rare but serious side effects. These side effects include: