Obstructive sensation or dull pain behind the sternum when swallowing dry food is one of the early and middle stage manifestations of esophageal cancer. It is mainly progressive dysphagia. In early stage, there may be only discomfort or blockage when swallowing, pain behind the sternum or discomfort behind the sternum when swallowing food. The following diseases are also the causes of obstruction or dull pain behind the sternum when swallowing dry food: 1. Benign esophageal tumors Benign esophageal tumors are rare, accounting for only 1% of esophageal tumors. The age of onset is smaller than that of esophageal cancer, the symptoms progress slowly and the disease period is long. The most common benign esophageal tumor is smooth muscle tumor, which accounts for about 90%, and there are also polyps, lipomas, fibrolipomas, papillomas, etc. which originate from mucosal and submucosal layers. Esophageal smooth muscle tumors are most commonly seen in middle-aged men. Smooth muscle tumors are mostly located in the lower and middle segments of the esophagus, and most of them are solitary. Smooth muscle tumors originate from the muscle layer of the esophageal wall and grow slowly into and out of the lumen of the esophagus, while the mucosa remains intact and thus does not cause vomiting of blood. The tumor is round, oval or horseshoe-shaped, with an intact envelope, tough, grayish-white, swirling structure, 2-5cm in diameter, but sometimes up to 10cm in diameter, encircling a long segment of esophagus. 2.Esophageal carcinoid of esophagus originates from neuroectoderm and mainly occurs in the digestive tract, accounting for 0.87% of the malignant tumors in the digestive tract, which is a tumor of Apudoma peptide-producing hormone tumor, also known as silver cell pheochromocytoma or chromophobe tumor. Soft tissue tumor of chest wall Soft tissue tumor of chest wall is more benign and less malignant. Most of the soft tissue tumors of chest wall in children and old people are malignant, and the possibility of malignancy of fast-growing tumors is great. Chest wall tumors refer to tumors occurring in deep thoracic tissues, including tumors of bones, periosteum, muscles, blood vessels, nerves and other tissues, but not including skin, subcutaneous tissue and breast tumors. Chest wall tumors are divided into two categories: primary and secondary, and primary tumors are divided into benign and malignant. Primary benign tumors include lipoma, fibroma, neurofibroma, nerve sheath tumor, osteofibrous dysplasia, osteofibroma, chondrosarcoma, osteochondroma and bone cyst, etc. Primary malignant tumors include fibrosarcoma, neurofibrosarcoma, angiosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, osteochondrosarcoma and malignant giant cell tumor of bone. Secondary chest wall tumors are almost always metastasized from malignant tumors in other parts of the body, often causing local destruction or pathological fracture of the ribs and causing pain, but the local masses are mostly inconspicuous and are mainly metastatic carcinomas.