Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ)
Treatment of stage 0 is usually surgery.1
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage 0 esophageal cancer.
Stage I Esophageal Cancer
Treatment of stage I esophageal cancer may include the following:
- Surgery.
- Clinical trials of chemotherapy plus radiation therapy, with or without surgery.
- Clinical trials of new therapies used before or after surgery.
his summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage I esophageal cancer.
Stage II Esophageal Cancer
Treatment of stage II esophageal cancer may include the following:
- Surgery.
- Clinical trials of chemotherapy plus radiation therapy, with or without surgery.
- Clinical trials of new therapies used before or after surgery.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage II esophageal cancer.
Stage III Esophageal Cancer
Treatment of stage III esophageal cancer may include the following:
- Surgery.
- Clinical trials of chemotherapy plus radiation therapy, with or without surgery.
- Clinical trials of new therapies used before or after surgery.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage III esophageal cancer.
Stage IV Esophageal Cancer
Treatment of stage IV esophageal cancer may include the following:
- External or internal radiation therapy as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
- Laser surgery or electrocoagulation as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
- Chemotherapy.
- Clinical trials of chemotherapy.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage IV esophageal cancer.
1 Note: The text and images above are in the public domain and were reproduced or adapted from the websites of the National Cancer Institute (NCI): http://www.cancer.gov/ and http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/.



