If the cancer has not spread to other organs, thus making it potentially curable, surgery can be performed to remove the majority of the esophagus. In some cases, the surgery will also involve removing the stomach, spleen, and lymph nodes inside the chest. Then another part of the lower bowel is pulled up and attached to the remaining section of esophagus. They may receive chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments after the surgery.
If the cancer has spread to other organs, combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy is the most common treatment. This form of treatment is also used in the cases where the patient can't have surgery.
Whether preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy can improve a patient's prognosis is still under study by many cancers centers.
