Eider Talavera-Urquijo, MD PhD, Bas P. L. Wijnhoven, MD PhD

Introduction Oesophageal cancer ranks seventh in terms of incidence and sixth in mortality overall, being responsible for one in every 18 cancer deaths in 2020 worldwide1. There are two main histological types: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The overall 5-year survival of patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer is approximately 15%2. Apart from some areas in Asia, there is no screening programme worldwide. Hence, patients often present with advanced disease stage and cure is seldom possible. Some 50-60% of patients can be offered treatment with curative intent including surgical and non-surgical modalities3. Disease stage, patient’s fitness/frailty and expertise of the multidisciplinary team guide decision making.  Anatomy of the oesophagus (figure 1)

Kirstie Kirkley, Georgia R. Layton, Javeria Tariq, Heen Shamaz, Mostin Hu, Alana Atkinson, Deborah Harrington, Elizabeth Belcher, Jason Ali, Narain Moorjani, Farah Bhatti, Karen Booth