Personalizing therapy for esophageal cancer patients.

Management of esophageal cancer starts with accurate tissue diagnosis and clinical staging. Advances in screening and surveillance programs and endoscopic techniques have resulted in patients with early-stage esophageal cancer diagnosed more frequently. Endoscopic mucosal resection for staging is essential to diagnose T1a cancer and crucial to exclude risk factors for progression to cancer or presence of concomitant cancer. Esophagectomy is an essential component of treatment of locally advanced, resectable esophageal cancer. Despite intensive multidisciplinary approaches, the prognosis of esophageal cancer is unacceptable. This article focuses on the process of decision making used to select optimal therapy for esophageal cancer.