Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant type of esophageal cancer worldwide, and in the United States, it has disproportionately high incidence and mortality in certain subgroups with cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol drinking, and comorbidities. This is particularly true in minority populations, which highlights health care disparities. Specific agents have been implicated in the pathogenesis of these tumors in select populations as well, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons generated from cooking. In recent years, many new endoscopic and laboratory technologies have been developed to diagnose this cancer at an early stage, and new staging guidelines have been published. Although there has been a tendency to combine all esophageal carcinomas for treatment studies, there is emerging evidence that these morphologically distinct entities have important differences in their biologies and metastatic potential. Recent studies also shed light on the complex multidisciplinary treatments for squamous cell carcinoma. This edition first published 2013