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Diseases » Esophagus Cancer » Types

Types of Esophagus Cancer

Contents

Esophagus Cancer: Types list

The list of types of Esophagus Cancer mentioned in various sources includes:

Types of cells affected by esophageal cancer:
- Squamous cell carcinoma (esophagus) - affects the lining cells.
- Adenocarcinoma (esophagus) - affects the gland-like cells.
Stages of esophageal cancer:
- Stage I esophageal cancer - affects the top lining cells.
- Stage II esophageal cancer - affects deep lining cells, or has spread to lymph nodes.
- Stage III esophageal cancer - invaded the esophagus wall cells or has spread to lymph nodes or nearby tissues.
- Stage IV esophageal cancer - metastatic: cancer has spread to other parts of the body , such as liver, lungs, brain, and bones.

Types discussion:

What You Need To Know About Cancer of the Esophagus: NCI (Excerpt)

Tumors can be benign or malignant .

Benign tumors are not cancer. They usually can be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Most important, benign tumors are rarely a threat to life.
Malignant tumors are cancer. Cells in malignant tumors are abnormal and divide without control or order. These cancer cells can invade and destroy the tissue around them. Cancer cells can also break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system (the tissues and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells that fight infection and other diseases). This process, called metastasis , is how cancer spreads from the original (primary) tumor to form new (secondary) tumors in other parts of the body.

Cancer that begins in the esophagus (also called esophageal cancer) is divided into two major types, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma , depending on the type of cells that are malignant. Squamous cell carcinomas arise in squamous cells that line the esophagus. These cancers usually occur in the upper and middle part of the esophagus. Adenocarcinomas usually develop in the glandular tissue in the lower part of the esophagus. The treatment is similar for both types of esophageal cancer.

If the cancer spreads outside the esophagus, it often goes to the lymph nodes first. (Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that are part of the body's immune system.) Esophageal cancer can also spread to almost any other part of the body, including the liver, lungs, brain, and bones. (Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Cancer of the Esophagus: NCI)

What You Need To Know About Cancer of the Esophagus: NCI (Excerpt)

If the diagnosis is esophageal cancer, the doctor needs to learn the stage (or extent) of disease. Staging is a careful attempt to find out whether the cancer has spread and, if so, to what parts of the body. Knowing the stage of the disease helps the doctor plan treatment. Listed below are descriptions of the four stages of esophageal cancer.

Stage I. The cancer is found only in the top layers of cells lining the esophagus.
Stage II. The cancer involves deeper layers of the lining of the esophagus, or it has spread to nearby lymph nodes. The cancer has not spread to other parts of the body.
Stage III. The cancer has invaded more deeply into the wall of the esophagus or has spread to tissues or lymph nodes near the esophagus. It has not spread to other parts of the body.
Stage IV. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Esophageal cancer can spread almost anywhere in the body, including the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.

(Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Cancer of the Esophagus: NCI)