Minimally-Invasive Treatment Found Effective For Esophageal Cancer

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Researchers have found that early stage cancers of the esophagus can be treated as effectively by less-invasive, organ-sparing endoscopic therapy as compared to more complex surgical removal of the esophagus, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the September 2009 issue of Gastroenterology. "In 20 percent of esophageal cancer (http://www.mayoclinic.org/esophageal-cancer/) cases in the United States, the cancer is detected in the early stages," says Ganapathy Prasad, M.D. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/12948837.html), gastroenterologist and lead author on the study. "Traditionally, esophageal cancer patients undergo a complicated surgery to remove the esophagus. Our team compared surgery to the use of endoscop...