Esophageal cancer remains a deadly disease, especially in China where it accounts for nearly half of the world’s cases. Researchers from the Chinese Medical Academy have mapped the latest breakthroughs that could turn the tide. Traditional endoscopy is still the gold‑standard for spotting early lesions, but newer techniques—such as narrow‑band imaging and, most notably, artificial‑intelligence‑assisted systems—are dramatically boosting detection rates, even for less‑experienced doctors. At the same time, non‑invasive screens are emerging. A machine‑learning‑driven sponge cytology test can sort high‑risk individuals without sending everyone to an endoscopy, while liquid‑biopsy methods that read DNA methylation patterns in blood offer a highly sensitive way to catch cancer early. On the treatment side, precision medicine is reshaping care. For HER‑2‑positive tumors, the antibody drug trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy is now standard, and drugs targeting rare mutations (Claudin 18.2, NTRK, BRAF) are expanding options. Immune checkpoint inhibitors—pembrolizumab, nivolumab, sintilimab and camrelizumab—have proven in large trials to extend survival when paired with chemotherapy, becoming the new first‑line choice for advanced disease. Together, these advances in detection and targeted therapy promise a future where esophageal cancer is caught sooner and treated more effectively, improving survival rates that have long hovered between 10% and 30%.
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