Oesophageal Cancer Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gullet

The oesophagus is the tube which allows food to pass through the digestive system from the throat to the stomach. The pharynx is the part that links the nose and mouth to the respiratory and digestive systems respectively, and is commonly called the throat. The larynx is the voice box while the diaphragm is a muscle important for breathing.

Answer: 55+

This is a cancer which predominantly affects older people with under 15% of cases affecting those below the age of fifty-five. The risks increase the older you become, with some statistics showing the peak being for those in their seventies. Treatment for older people, particularly surgery, runs a higher risk than for the younger age range since they are more likely to have other health issues.

Answer: Difficulty in swallowing

The medical name for this is dysphagia, and it refers to that feeling of having something stuck in your throat. It can be caused by problems with the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis or be caused by something like acid reflux, not just cancer.

Other symptoms to look out for are excessive acid reflux, a hoarse or raspy voice and pain when swallowing which doesn't clear up quickly. If any or all of these occur regularly, see your doctor and get it checked.

Answer: Eating raw fruit and vegetables

Smoking cigarettes or marijuana, chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol, especially spirits, and drinking very hot drinks can all increase the chances of oesophageal cancer. The common factor is that they can all irritate the delicate lining of the oesophagus and anything which disturbs these cells can risk damage which may lead to the formation of a malignant tumour.

Cigarettes have so many risks involved that many people have given them up and recreational drugs not only have risks attached, they are also illegal in many parts of the world. For the others, moderation is the key, and let that coffee cool down a bit before gulping it down.

Answer: True

The incidence of this cancer in men is three to four times that in women, and this statistic holds true no matter where you live. Some of the reasons may be linked to lifestyle, with other theories being investigated in the twenty-first century. One of these is related to hormones, with one proposition being that women get some protection from these. Obesity is a known risk factor, but men and women tend to accumulate fat in different areas - men's tendency to have more abdominal fat (the beer belly) is another idea being investigated.

Answer: Adenocarcinoma

Squamous cell carcinomas form in the cells which line the oesophagus and other internal organs of the body, like those of the respiratory system and also the skin. They tend to form in the mid and upper regions. Adenocarcinomas form in the gland cells which create mucus, with gastric reflux being one of the causes. Consequently, they form lower down where the oesophagus joins the stomach.

Both types are classed as aggressive, but research shows that patients with stage one adenocarcinomas have a better chance of survival than that with squamous cell carcinomas.

Answer: Endoscopy

An endoscopy involves sending a tube through your mouth into the oesophagus. The attached camera can show the doctor what it looks like from the inside and enable him or her to investigate any suspicious looking areas. Cells may also be removed to be tested in a biopsy. Other tests may be a scan and/or an internal ultrasound, but the endoscopy is the more likely first step.

The barium enema and sigmoidoscopy are more likely to be used if bowel cancer is suspected while the lung x-ray will be linked to investigations for lung cancer.

Answer: Removal of the oesophagus lining

As with the investigative procedure, the endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) utilises a tube and camera which are guided to the relevant part of the digestive system. This may be the stomach or the duodenum as well as the oesophagus. The procedure can remove pre-cancerous cells and early stage cancer.

Investigations will also be made to see if there is any evidence that the cancer has spread.

Answer: Stomach

After removal of the cancerous parts of the oesophagus, the remaining part can be joined to the stomach, which can be pulled up into the chest cavity to create a new digestive tract. The amount of the oesophagus which needs to be removed depends upon how far the cancer has spread along it, but surgery can remove all of the oesophagus, if necessary, and stretch the stomach to compensate. Equally, should the cancer be lower down, surgery can remove the top of the stomach and the affected part of the oesophagus and re-join the remainder.

Major surgery like this is likely to be followed up by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

Answer: True

Pancreatic cancer has the poorest survival rate according to most studies, but oesophageal cancer is also one with low rates. The 5-year average survival rate for oesophageal cancer is around 20%, which is a big improvement over the 5% survival rate fifty years ago. Early detection, where the cancer is restricted only to the oesophagus, improves the figure to nearer 50%, but if it has spread to areas far from the original site, the five year survival rate can still be as low as 5%.

It's worth remembering that this is a cancer that mainly affects older people, who may have other health issues affecting their longevity. Diagnosing and treating any type of cancer is a case of the earlier the better.