Dictionary of Cancer Terms
View in Spanish: Cáncer de esófago
Esophageal cancer (ee-SAH-fuh-JEE-ul KAN-ser)
Cancer that forms in tissues lining the esophagus (the muscular tube through which food passes from the throat to the stomach). Two types of esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma (cancer that begins in flat cells lining the esophagus) and adenocarcinoma (cancer that begins in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids).
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.