Recently, a piece of news has brought esophageal cancer into the public spotlight again: well-known actor Xu Shaoqiang died of esophageal cancer in Beijing at the age of 73.
He once starred in Stephen Chow's movie "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qier" in the villain "Zao Wou-ki", and his superb acting skills and distinctive character image have become the "childhood shadow" in the hearts of many audiences.
It is reported that although Xu Shaoqiang was actively treated for esophageal cancer after being diagnosed, the complexity and aggressiveness of the disease made his condition deteriorate rapidly.
His death once again alerted people to the disease of esophageal cancer!
What is esophageal cancer?
Esophageal cancer, also known as esophageal cancer, is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive tract worldwide. It is mainly divided into two types, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma, with the former being more common.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma accounts for about 80%-90% of all esophageal cancers, usually occurs in the middle or lower part of the esophagus, and is one of the most common tumors in the elderly.
Esophageal adenocarcinoma accounts for about 10%-20% of all esophageal cancers and usually occurs in the lower part of the esophagus or at the junction of the esophagus and stomach, and is one of the most common tumors in young people.
Esophageal cancer, a malignant tumor of the digestive tract that cannot be ignored, quietly threatens our health.
But don't be afraid, the experts of Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital gave the "five-character mantra" of prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and health to help us protect the "food channel"!
Prevention: A "firewall" for a rainy day
"Prevention is better than prevention" is a phrase that is most appropriate for the prevention of esophageal cancer, which should start from daily life. This "uninvited guest" is sometimes really "invited" by our bad habits.
1. Stay with alcohol and cigarettes: Over time, esophageal cancer may come to your door.
2. Hot and hot food control: If it is "hot" for a long time, the esophageal mucosa will be injured, and cancer may occur quietly.
3. Lovers of pickled food: salted fish, pickles, and cured meat, there are many carcinogens in these "heavy" foods.
4. Fruit and vegetable insulators: Without these "protectors" in the body, esophageal cancer will come to "bully" you.
5. Couch potatoes: don't like to exercise, fat accumulation, and soaring weight.
6. Betel nut chewing non-stop: It is a "good friend" of esophageal cancer.
7. Gastroesophageal reflux is not taken seriously: If you don't care about it for a long time, esophageal cancer will come to "knock on the door".
Sift: The Sharp-Eyed Scout
Chen Xiaobing, chairman of the Esophageal Tumor Integrated Rehabilitation Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association and deputy director of the Department of Medical Oncology of Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital, introduced that endoscopic examinations are recommended for esophageal cancer screening, such as ordinary white light endoscopy and pigment endoscopy. Patients who cannot tolerate conventional endoscopy can undergo anesthesia or sedation endoscopy or nasal ultrafine endoscopy.
01. Who are the high-risk groups for esophageal cancer?
Applicants must be ≥ 45 years old and meet any of the following:
(1) Living in an area with a high incidence of esophageal cancer;
(2) Parents, children, siblings and other first-degree relatives have a history of esophageal cancer;
(3) Bad eating habits and lifestyles such as hot food, high-salt diet, pickled food, smoking, heavy drinking, etc.;
(4) Chronic esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus, esophageal diverticulum, achalasia, reflux esophagitis, benign esophageal stricture and other diseases;
(5) Have a history of diagnosis and treatment of precancerous lesions of the esophagus.
02. How often are high-risk groups screened?
In principle, endoscopy should be performed every 5 years for high-risk groups of esophageal cancer, and it is recommended to shorten the screening interval for those with the following lesions:
(1) Patients with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia undergo endoscopy every 1-3 years.
(2) Patients with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia combined with endoscopic high-risk factors or lesions with a length > diameter of 1 cm should undergo endoscopy once a year for 5 years.
(3) Barrett's esophagus patients with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia should undergo endoscopy every 6-12 months; Barrett's esophagus patients are free of dysplasia and have endoscopy every 3 to 5 years.
Diagnosis: The "Tactician" of Precision Strike
Wang Jianzheng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Medical Oncology, said that the diagnosis of esophageal cancer is like "solving a case", and it is necessary to collect various clues step by step to determine the "suspect".
Clue collection – The doctor will make an initial diagnosis based on the symptoms. For example, difficulty swallowing, chest pain, foreign body sensation when eating, etc., and endoscopy is examined for abnormalities.
Photograph forensics – If the endoscope finds a suspicious "spot" or "bump", the doctor will take a picture and possibly remove a small piece of tissue.
Laboratory identification - the small tissue taken out will be sent to the laboratory for pathological diagnosis to see if it is a "bad cell", that is, a cancer cell.
Result determination - If the pathological results confirm that it is indeed a cancer cell, then it is diagnosed as esophageal cancer, which is currently the only gold standard.
Governance: "combatants" who fight side by side
Treating esophageal cancer is a race against time. Surgery, chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and other means are our "combatants", and they fight side by side to fight cancer cells.
Wang Jianzheng introduced that the current treatment strategies for esophageal cancer mainly include the above listed methods, and the choice of specific treatment strategies depends on the stage of the cancer, the location of the tumor, the patient's physical condition and willingness, and the doctor will also consider the patient's thoughts and choices during treatment.
In conclusion, the treatment of esophageal cancer is a comprehensive project, which requires doctors to develop a personalized treatment plan according to the specific situation of each person.
Kang: The "patron saint" of Phoenix Nirvana
1. Dietary adjustment: The esophagus is more sensitive after surgery, so you can eat some soft food and liquid food, and slowly transition to a normal diet. Be careful to chew slowly and avoid spicy, overheated or hard foods.
2. Nutritional supplements: Eat more foods rich in protein and vitamins, such as fish, meat, eggs, milk and fresh vegetables and fruits.
3. Maintain weight: Pay attention to monitoring your weight and try to keep it within a healthy range.
4. Appropriate exercise: Exercise can help restore physical strength and improve immunity. Such as walking, jogging, tai chi, etc.
5. Regular review: It is important to have regular review after treatment so that problems can be found and dealt with in a timely manner.
6. Psychological support: You can chat with a professional psychologist, or join a patient group to communicate with people with similar experiences to reduce the psychological burden.
7. Quit smoking and drinking: Tobacco and alcohol are the enemy of physical recovery, so be sure to stay away from tobacco and alcohol.
8. Routine life: maintain a regular schedule and adequate sleep.
Expert Profile
Chen Xiaobing
Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Oncology, Second-level Professor/Chief Physician, Doctoral Supervisor, Postdoctoral Cooperative Supervisor. Expert with special allowance from the State Council, "National Health Science Popularization Expert" of the National Health Commission, "Top Ten Science Communication Figures" of the China Association for Science and Technology, High-level Talent of Henan Province, Ninth Batch of Outstanding Experts of Henan Province, Provincial Academic and Technical Leader, Provincial Health Science and Technology Leading Talent, and the Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker in Henan.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the China Anti-Cancer Association, Chairman of the Esophageal Tumor Integrated Rehabilitation Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association, Deputy Director of the Cancer Rehabilitation and Media Communication Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association, Member of the Standing Committee and Deputy Secretary-General of the Tumor Overall Assessment and Cancer Prevention and Treatment Science Popularization Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Gastric Tumor Integration Rehabilitation Committee and the Sino-Western Integrated Colorectal Cancer Committee.
Editor-in-chief of CACA's "Kidney Protection" guidelines, editor-in-chief of "Comprehensive Esophageal Cancer" of Popular Science China, editor-in-chief of "Global Assessment of Tumors" of Science Press, deputy editor-in-chief of CACA's "Global Assessment", "Precancerous Lesions" and "Psychotherapy", editorial board member of CACA's "Guidelines for the Integrated Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastric Cancer (2022 Edition)", author of "Expert Consensus on Immunotherapy of Gastric Cancer Based on PDL1 Protein Expression Level (2023 Edition)", "Expert Consensus on the Management of the Clinical Application of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Esophageal Cancer" He is the first editor-in-chief of the Chinese Journal of Frontiers of Medicine (Electronic Edition), the Chinese Electronic Journal of Colorectal Diseases, and the Electronic Journal of Comprehensive Oncology Treatment.
He has presided over or completed more than 20 general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Central Plains Science and Technology Innovation Leading Talents, Provincial Outstanding Youth, Provincial Natural Key Projects, and Provincial Medical Science and Technology Major Research Projects, and published 115 SCI articles, 43 papers with an impact factor of ≥ 5, 5 papers with an IF of 10≥, and an H index of 29. Among them, 79 SCI papers have been published in international high-level journals such as Signal Transduct Target Ther and Mol Cancer as the first/corresponding author, with a total impact factor of more than 450 points. He has won 6 second prizes of Henan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award and 11 first prizes at the municipal and departmental levels, including the Provincial Medical Science and Technology Award; He served as the editor-in-chief of the clinical volume of the national "14th Five-Year Plan" key book "Integrated Oncology", and served as the editorial board member of 38 national norms, guidelines and expert consensus on gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc. He has edited 26 monographs and edited 26 books, trained 20 doctoral and master's students, and supervised 3 postdoctoral fellows. The editor-in-chief of "Facing Cancer: No Panic and No Blind Follow" won the 2020 National Excellent Science Popularization Work Award of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Science and Technology Award of the China Anti-Cancer Association. He led the team to be approved by Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Precision Treatment of Refractory Digestive Tract Tumors and other provincial, ministerial, municipal and departmental scientific research platforms.
Consultation hours: Monday morning, Thursday afternoon
Wang Jianzheng
Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Medical Oncology, Ph.D., graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, member of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Professional Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association, member of the Tumor Ultrasound Therapy Professional Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association, Secretary of the Integrated Oncology and Nephrology Professional Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association, member of the Abdominal Oncology Comprehensive Rehabilitation Branch of the China Medical Education Association, Youth Member of the Lung Tumor Professional Committee of the China Medical Education Association, Member of the Oncology Cardiology Expert Committee of the Beijing Health Promotion Association, Deputy Secretary-General and Standing Committee Member of the Cancer Prevention and Rehabilitation Science Popularization Professional Committee of Henan Life Care Association, Secretary of the Oncology Medicine Group of the Science Popularization Committee of Henan Pharmaceutical Association, and visiting scholar at the Brother Hospital of the Josef Foundation in Paderborn, Germany.
Source: Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital