Can chronic pharyngitis turn into esophageal cancer? In addition to gastroscopy, what else can be used to check for esophageal cancer?

Pharyngitis and esophageal cancer seem to be diseases of the throat, so many people worry whether pharyngitis will deteriorate into esophageal cancer if it is not cured for a long time. In fact, there is no need to worry too much, because pharyngitis belongs to the respiratory tract, while esophageal cancer belongs to the esophagus. So what tests can be done to confirm esophageal cancer?

Can chronic pharyngitis turn into esophageal cancer?

Pharyngitis generally does not develop into esophageal cancer.

Pharyngitis is a chronic inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa, mucosa and lymphoid tissue, usually as part of upper respiratory tract inflammation; esophageal cancer is a disease of the esophageal mucosa, there is no necessary connection, so pharyngitis will not develop into esophageal cancer. Pharyngitis is only an inflammation caused by local bacteria and viruses, while esophageal cancer is one of the malignant tumors of the digestive tract. However, long-term chronic esophageal diseases can also increase the probability of esophageal cancer.

In addition to gastroscopy, what else can be done to check for esophageal cancer?

To screen for early esophageal cancer, endoscopic examination is recommended, combined with biopsy pathology, which can confirm the diagnosis in most cases.

Early esophageal cancer usually has no symptoms, or only a foreign body sensation when swallowing or a feeling of incomplete swallowing. At this time, the cancer cells are confined to the mucosa and submucosal layer of the esophagus, and there is no lymph node metastasis. If it is discovered in time at this time, the treatment effect is the best!

If you don't want to do a gastroscopy, you can also choose esophageal barium meal radiography.

Its mechanism of action is to swallow a high-density barium sulfate contrast agent to make the tumor visible.

There are three types of early esophageal cancer: surface raised type, surface depressed type, and surface flat type. They correspond to three types of X-ray images: small filling defect, small ulcer, and smear sign.

It should be noted that barium meal radiography cannot make a pathological diagnosis, and if abnormalities are found, the next step is still to perform an endoscopic examination.

In addition, esophageal barium meal radiography has relatively high requirements on the equipment and the level of the examining physician. In order to avoid misdiagnosis, short-term follow-up examinations are often required.

If early esophageal cancer is found, surgical resection should be considered first after diagnosis. Before surgery, a full body examination is usually required to assess the surgical conditions. Among them, chest CT is a very important examination.

What are the symptoms of esophageal cancer?

Early esophageal cancer symptoms may not be obvious and are easily overlooked. The main symptoms are a choking sensation when swallowing, a feeling of food being stuck in the esophagus when swallowing, and pain behind the sternum and a burning sensation. Some patients also feel pain under the xiphoid process. The symptoms vary in severity and duration.

In the middle and late stages, there may be difficulty swallowing (in severe cases, even liquids are difficult to swallow), food reflux, swallowing pain, etc., as well as the common problems of malignant tumors such as weight loss, cachexia, and metastasis.