Major national and international trials are studying the effect of chemotherapy (or combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy), given either before or with surgery, compared to surgical treatment alone. The patient’s specialist will determine exactly which variety of treatment is needed and it will be some time before it is known which patients benefit most from these various treatment methods.
A new approach to treatment is the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves giving the patient a special chemical which enters the cancer cells and is sensitive to certain light wavelengths. When light is passed into the oesophagus using a probe, it activates the chemical which then destroys the cancer. This remains an experimental treatment, currently being investigated in trials.