Esophageal and Esophagogastric Junction Cancers, Version 2.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology
A newer version of this guideline has been published: NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Esophageal and Esophagogastric Junction Cancers, Version 4.2026 (2026)
- Study type
- Clinical guideline
- Study name
- NCCN Esophageal and EGJ Cancers v2.2023
- Design
- Expert consensus-based clinical guideline (NCCN)
- Source
- Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network · 2023
In plain words
Cancer of the oesophagus (food pipe) and the junction where the oesophagus meets the stomach has two main types (squamous cell and adenocarcinoma), which differ in location, treatment and outlook. For advanced or spread disease, drug treatments can ease symptoms, help people live longer and improve quality of life. Testing the tumour (for example for HER2 and PD-L1) helps choose the right treatment. Review and decision-making by a team of different specialists is very important.
Key guideline recommendations
- Per the abstract; level of evidence in the full text
Palliative management, which may include systemic therapy, chemoradiotherapy and/or best supportive care, is recommended for all patients with unresectable or metastatic cancer.
- Per the abstract; level of evidence in the full text
Management by a multidisciplinary team is essential for all patients with locally advanced oesophageal or oesophagogastric junction cancers.
Study population
Patients with cancers of the oesophagus or oesophagogastric junction (squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma). This section of the guideline focuses on the management of recurrent or metastatic disease.
Endpoints
This paper is a clinical guideline and has no trial endpoints.
Safety and side effects
The abstract gives no information on adverse effects. Details are in the full guideline.
Clinical significance and place in guidelines
Based on the abstract, biomarker testing (HER2, microsatellite instability and PD-L1) has had an important impact on clinical practice, and targeted therapies and immunotherapy, including trastuzumab, nivolumab, ipilimumab and pembrolizumab, have shown encouraging results. Palliative care is recommended for all patients with unresectable or metastatic disease, and multidisciplinary management for locally advanced disease. Exact recommendations for each subgroup and the levels of evidence are in the full guideline and should be checked against the current NCCN version.
Limitations
The abstract gives only a general summary of the guideline and does not include detailed algorithms, doses or levels of evidence. This section of the guideline focuses on recurrent or metastatic disease, and newer NCCN versions may have changed the recommendations.
This summary was prepared by the editorial team from the published paper; the original paper is the final reference. Read the original abstract on PubMed.