New Therapy Spares Organ in Early Esophageal Cancer
Early-stage cancers of the esophagus can be treated effectively by less invasive, organ-sparing endoscopic
therapy, a new study has found.
This is good news, as esophageal cancer arising from Barrett's esophagus is increasing in frequency faster than any other cancer in the United States, and 90 percent of patients die within five years of being diagnosed, according to a news release from the Mayo Clinic.
Esophageal cancer is diagnosed in its early stages about 20 percent of the time, Dr. Ganapathy Prasad, of the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic and lead author on the study, published in the September issue of Gastroenterology.
HealthDay, 09/02/09
Additional coverage:
Tags: esophageal cancer, GI