Background

esophageal cancer is one of the most aggressive neoplasms of the digestive tract, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality; similar to cancer of the lung, liver, pancreas and stomach. Its incidence presents great geographical variations. Survival is individualized and depends on the stage of the disease.

Objective

to characterize the patients diagnosed with esophageal tumors registered in the digestive tracts multidisciplinary medical office.

Methods

longitudinal descriptive study and prospective follow-up of a series of adult patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer registered in the multidisciplinary consultation of digestive tracts (N=57), of the Celestino Hernández Robau University Hospital, Villa Clara, from January /2016 to December/2017. The analyzed variables: age, sex, skin color, risk factors, histological type, anatomical location of the tumor and time of the disease.

Results

there was a predominance of male patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer (89.5%); as well as those over 60 years of age (63.2%) and white skin color. The most frequent risk factors were smoking and alcoholism, with 85.9% and 66.6% respectively. The most observed histological variety was squamous cell carcinoma, the main location being the middle third of the esophagus. In 71.9% of cases, more than three months elapsed from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis.

Conclusion

the diagnosis of esophageal cancer is not made immediately after the onset of symptoms, which limits therapeutic options and patient survival.

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