Oesophageal cancer may not cause any symptoms in the early stages. If there are symptoms, these can include:
Oesophageal cancer symptoms
- difficulty swallowing
- heartburn or reflux that is new
- reflux that doesn’t go away
- food or fluids “catching” in the throat, or episodes of bringing food back up (regurgitation)
- pain when swallowing
- unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite
- feeling uncomfortable in the upper abdomen, especially when eating
- unexplained tiredness that won’t go away
- vomit that has blood in it
- black or bloody stools (poo)
Not everyone with these symptoms has oesophageal cancer. If you have symptoms that do
not improve, see your general practitioner (GP).
→ READ MORE: Oesophageal cancer diagnosis
Key resource
Download a PDF booklet on this topic.
More resources
Prof David Watson, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Flinders University, and Senior Consultant Surgeon, Oesophago-Gastric Surgery Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Prof Bryan Burmeister, Senior Radiation Oncologist, GenesisCare Fraser Coast and Hervey Bay Hospital, QLD; Dr Natalie Collier, Radiation Oncologist, Wollongong Hospital, NSW; A/Prof Melissa Eastgate, A/Executive Director, Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Natalie Lalor, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Victoria; Chris Menzies, Upper GI Cancer Nurse Consultant, Flinders Medical Centre and Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, SA; Tammy Milne, Consumer; Stefanie Simnadis, Clinical Dietitian, St John of God Subiaco Hospital, WA; Prof Rajvinder Singh, Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide, and Director, Gastroenterology Department and Head of Endoscopy, Lyell McEwin Hospital, SA.
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