Study finds high survival rates for oesophageal cancer patients
09/09/2004 - 11:06:16A study carried at St James’ Hospital in Dublin has found that a significant number of oesophageal cancer patients can be cured through advances in surgery and access to a multidisciplinary team of specialists.
The study found 80% of patients treated by the Oesophageal Cancer Multidisciplinary Team at the hospital between 1997 and 2003 survived for one year or more, while 46% survived for three years or more.
A total of 37% of the patients survived for five years or more, which is generally regarded as a complete cure.
The latest available figures on oesophageal cancer show that 300 cases of the disease were diagnosed in 2000 and that the incidence of the illness was rising on an annual basis.
