Introduction to oesophagus
The proper name for your gullet is The oesophagus, the tube running from your mouth down to your stomach. It lies between your windpipe and your spine.
There are two main types of oesophageal cancer.
• Cancers found in the upper two-thirds of the oesophagus are usually squamous carcinomas.
• Cancers of the lower third are usually adenocarcinomas. These two types of cancers have different types of cells, almost certainly have different causes and need to be treated differently.
How common is oesophageal cancer?
Each year there are nearly 15,000 new cases of oesophageal cancer in the USA, nearly 1500 in Canada, nearly 1200 in Australia and 6,000 in the UK. Some countries, such as Turkey, China, India and South Africa have very high rates of this type of cancer. Even within Europe there is a wide variation. The rate in the UK and Ireland is ten times higher than in Greece and Spain. The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus has been increasing over the last 20 years, particularly amongst males in Europe and North America.
