Common symptoms of advanced esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer has no specific symptoms in the early stage and is easily overlooked. Once discovered, most patients are already in the late stage. The following are common symptoms of advanced esophageal cancer.

1. Progressive dysphagia

This is the most typical symptom of late-stage esophageal cancer, which is often manifested as inability to swallow solid food smoothly, or swallowing it after washing it with soup. Subsequently, semi-liquid diet is also blocked, and finally liquid diet is also difficult to swallow.

The degree of dysphagia in the late stage is closely related to the pathological type of esophageal cancer. Generally, the stricture type and medullary type are more serious. Dysphagia has a great impact on patients with late stage esophageal cancer. On the one hand, dysphagia can lead to malnutrition and weight loss, making the patient's original weak body worse; on the other hand, dysphagia also brings great difficulties to the treatment of late stage esophageal cancer.

2. Food Reflux

Because patients with advanced esophageal cancer have more severe esophageal obstruction, and the proximal segment of the obstruction is dilated and retained, patients often experience food reflux, which generally contains mucus mixed with old food, and may also be bloody or have necrotic and detached tissue blocks, seriously affecting the patient's quality of life.

3. Vomiting

Vomiting is common in patients with mid- to late-stage esophageal cancer. Most patients vomit foamy mucus or egg-shaped sticky saliva. The main reason for vomiting in mid- to late-stage esophageal cancer is that esophageal obstruction prevents saliva and esophageal secretions from flowing into the stomach, and esophageal cancer and inflammation cause increased reflex secretions of esophageal glands and salivary glands. The mucus is sometimes bloody, or mixed with food from the previous meal or the next day, and has a fermented smell.

In severe cases, the surface of the esophagus may become swollen and ulcerated. If food scratches the surface of the ulcer, the patient may vomit blood. In particular, if the tumor destroys the aorta, severe vomiting of blood may occur, which seriously threatens the patient's life safety.