Esophageal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of human beings, and about 300,000 people die from esophageal cancer every year worldwide. It is a common and frequent disease that directly affects human health and quality of life today. China is a region with high incidence of esophageal cancer, and about 150,000 people die of esophageal cancer every year, accounting for nearly a quarter of all malignant tumor deaths, which seriously threatens people’s life and health. Early and late symptoms of esophageal cancer 1. Progressive dysphagia is the main symptom of most patients with esophageal cancer, but it is the late manifestation of the disease. Because of the elasticity and expansion ability of esophageal wall, dysphagia only appears when about 23 circumference of esophagus is infiltrated by cancer. Therefore, after the appearance of the above-mentioned advanced symptoms, the disease gradually worsens within a few months, from the inability to swallow solid food to the inability to swallow liquid food as well. If the cancer is accompanied by inflammation, edema and spasm of the esophageal wall, the difficulty in swallowing may be aggravated. The location of the obstruction is often in line with the location of the cancer. 2.Choking sensation in the throat is the most common, which can disappear or recur spontaneously and does not affect eating. It often occurs when the patient’s mood fluctuates, so it is easily mistaken for functional symptoms. 3.Posterior sternal and subxiphoid pain is more common. It can be burning, stabbing or pulling in nature, and is characterized by swallowing rough, burning or irritating food. Initially, it is intermittent, but when the cancer invades the nearby tissues or penetrates, there can be severe and continuous pain when swallowing food with posterior sternal or subsynovial pain after esophageal cancer surgery. The site of pain is often not completely consistent with the site of lesion in esophagus. The pain can mostly be temporarily relieved by antispasmodics. 4.Food retention infection and foreign body sensation When swallowing food or drinking water, late stage esophageal cancer symptoms include the sensation of slow downward movement and retention of food, as well as the sensation of tightness behind the sternum or food adhering to the esophageal wall, etc., which disappears after eating. The location of symptoms is mostly consistent with the location of lesions in the esophagus. 5.The dryness and tightness of the throat is especially obvious when swallowing dry and rough food, and the occurrence of this symptom is often related to the patient’s mood swings. 6.Food reaction often appears when the difficulty in swallowing is aggravated, and the reflux volume is not large, containing food and mucus, but also blood and pus. 7.Other symptoms of advanced esophageal cancer include hoarseness when the cancer presses the recurrent laryngeal nerve, eruption or phrenic nerve paralysis when it invades the phrenic nerve, shortness of breath and dry cough when it presses the trachea or bronchus, and fatal bleeding when it erodes the aorta. If the cancer is located in the upper part of esophagus or esophageal-tracheal or bronchial fistula, cervical sympathetic nerve palsy can be produced when swallowing liquid. China Esophageal Cancer Professional Treatment Network solemnly reminds esophageal cancer patients and family members that advanced stage of esophageal cancer does not mean late stage of life, so they should not give up active and effective treatment lightly. The following are esophageal cancer treatment methods for reference of esophageal cancer patients and family members: I. Surgical treatment of esophageal cancer 1, for cases before stage II, without serious complications. 2.For stage III cases, the comprehensive treatment method of preoperative radiotherapy can be considered, and surgery can also be considered for lower segment esophageal cancer that is 7 cm long. 3.For those who have recurred after radiotherapy, the lesions are not large in scope and there is no distant metastasis, and surgery should be pursued when conditions allow. 4.For highly obstructed esophagus, if the patient’s general condition is good, post sternal colon can be considered as substitute for esophagus and radiotherapy can be given afterwards. Contraindications 1.X-ray esophagogram or CT examination invade the adjacent important organs. 2.Distant metastasis. 3.Severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency. 4.Malignant disease. Factors affecting surgical resection The resection length of esophageal cancer is generally more than 5 cm from the upper and lower edges of the tumor, including the clearance of connective tissue and enlarged lymph nodes around the esophagus.