Esophageal Cancer

A healthcare provider will ask questions about your symptoms and medical history. They may do the following tests to diagnose the condition:

• Barium swallow: Healthcare providers look at your esophagus through a series of X-rays. It’s called a barium swallow because people drink a liquid with barium. Barium makes it easier for healthcare providers to see your esophagus on the X-ray.
• Computed tomography (CT) scan: This test helps healthcare providers determine if tumors have spread to your chest and abdomen (belly).
• Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD): Healthcare providers use a thin flexible tube called an endoscope to look at the inside of your esophagus.
• Esophageal endoscopic ultrasound: Sound waves create images of the inside of your esophagus. Healthcare providers may do this test as part of an EGD.
• Biopsy: During the EGD, healthcare providers may remove a small piece of tissue to examine under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells.

Healthcare providers use what they learn in diagnosis to classify or stage esophageal cancer. Cancer staging systems lay the foundation for cancer treatment.

When healthcare providers stage esophageal cancer, they look at factors such as cancer tumor location and depth, if it has spread to nearby lymph nodes and if the cancer has spread to other distant tissues or organs.

They also establish tumor grades. Tumor grades tell your provider whether tumor cells look and act like healthy cells. Low-grade tumors are slow-growing tumors and may be less aggressive. High-grade tumors have cells that divide very quickly and can be more aggressive.