Difficulty Swallowing? Signs of Oesophageal Cancer #worldcancerday - Dr.Pulkit Nag | Doctors' Circle

MRN (Medical Record/Reference Number) as: 61767/26449 Dr Pulkit Nag | Phone 📞: +91 9829030011 (Online & in-person appointment can be booked online or by call) | Consultant - Medical Oncology | Apex Hospitals, Malviya Nagar, Jaipur, India Subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/@doctors-circle - World's Largest Health Platform https://www.youtube.com/@doctorscirclehindi दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा हेल्थ प्लेटफार्म https://www.youtube.com/@Doctorscircle-knowyourdoctor Know Your Doctor So, today we are going to discuss a very important but yet a neglected topic by the name of oesophageal cancer. So, oesophageal cancer means the cancer of the oesophagus. So, what exactly is the oesophagus? The oesophagus is basically a food pipe which carries food from the mouth to the stomach. So, if any of the cancerous lesion is developed in the lining of the oesophagus, it finally leads to oesophageal cancer. Now, the problem lies that oesophageal cancer is basically diagnosed at a later stage and not in the early stage. Because there has been a problem in seeing the symptoms at an early stage, and patients often do not see doctors at the early symptoms. So, what are the early symptoms of oesophageal cancer? So, one of the most important early symptoms is difficulty in swallowing food. It may start with difficulty in swallowing solid food, that is, eating the chapatis or the bread or normal stuff, and it may progress to even difficulty in swallowing liquids. This is how the disease progresses. So, whenever there is an early symptom of oesophageal cancer, every patient should refer to the nearby physician or oncologist. Now, what are the basic causes of oesophageal cancer? So, basically, there are two types of oesophageal cancer. One is squamous cell carcinoma, which is the most common, and another is adenocarcinoma. So, squamous cell carcinoma is basically linked to the habits of smoking and alcohol consumption, which are the two major risk factors. So, patients who smoke a lot are, most importantly, diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. And if they are drinkers, the additive factors lead to a greater lethality of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. The other is the adenocarcinoma oesophagus. So, the adenocarcinoma oesophagus is basically related to a bad diet, very hot beverages, and very hot and spicy food, which basically leads to acid reflux, and this acid reflux may convert into the adenocarcinoma oesophagus. Patients who are obese and have a nutritionally compromised diet, eating less fruits and vegetables, are also prone to develop adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus. So, these are basically the two important types of oesophageal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. So, alcohol and tobacco are directly proportional to the cause of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. Now oesophageal cancer is mostly diagnosed at the median age of 40, but it may be diagnosed at 50 and 60 years of age. But nowadays the trend is being seen that oesophageal cancer is diagnosed at an early stage also. This may be because of the alteration of the microbiota, and some of the effects of environmental pollution also. So, nowadays I am seeing the oesophageal carcinoma in early stages also. Because of excess smoking and drinking habits, oesophageal carcinoma is diagnosed more often in males than in females. So, that is why the link between tobacco chewing and alcohol is directly proportional to oesophageal cancer. Now, how do we diagnose the oesophageal cancer? So, we do an investigation by the name we call upper GI endoscopy, in which there is a scope. We put the camera through the mouth in the food pipe, and that camera will detect any kind of pre-cancerous lesion in the lining of the oesophagus. If an abnormality is detected, we would take a biopsy through endoscopy, and if this biopsy comes out to be positive, this finally leads to oesophageal cancer. oesophageal cancer | oesophageal cancer symptoms | early symptoms of oesophageal cancer | difficulty swallowing cancer | food pipe cancer | oesophagus cancer | oesophageal cancer causes | oesophageal cancer risk factors | signs of oesophageal cancer | swallowing problem cancer | oesophageal cancer diagnosis | upper GI endoscopy for oesophageal cancer | biopsy for oesophageal cancer | oesophageal cancer stages | oesophageal cancer treatment | oesophageal cancer surgery #doctorscircle #oesophagus #esophageal #esophagealcancer #gastriccancer #gastrichealth