Ignoring recurring heartburn could cost you your life, experts warn, as cases of late-stage oesophageal cancer surge across England.
Analysis by Action Against Heartburn (AAH) found that diagnosis at stage 4 – when the disease has spread to other organs – increased from around a quarter of cases in 2014 to over 36 per cent in 2022.
The charity says that this rise in late-stage diagnoses of the ‘forgotten cancer’ is both ‘disproportionate’ and ‘catastrophic’ for patient survival.
Acid reflux, which can cause a burning sensation in the chest, is a relatively common condition affecting around one in five people.
It’s caused by stomach acid travelling back up the oesophagus, or food pipe, towards the throat.
This irritates the lining of the gastric tract, increasing the risk of abnormal cell growth and eventually cancer.
Oesophageal cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease and is closely associated with risk factors such as poor diet, smoking and alcohol.
But experts warn it’s increasingly difficult to detect because the symptoms are not easily recognisable – and are too often mistaken for indigestion – until it’s at an advanced stage.
Persistent acid reflux is one of the most common symptoms of esophageal cancer
Jill Clark, chair of AAH, said: ‘Oesophageal cancer is the forgotten cancer. Incidence in the UK us disproportionately high and late diagnosis means that it is often fatal.
‘The reasons for the increase in late-stage diagnosis are unclear but are likely to be due to a combination of strain on the NHS, referral delays, unhealthy lifestyles, an aging population and poor symptom awareness.
‘To improve survival there must be increased public awareness of key symptoms as well as faster routes to diagnosis, better use of innovative screening technologies – such as capsule sponge tech – and more research.’
There are around 9,200 new cases of oesophageal cancer in the UK every year – with fewer than 20 per cent of people diagnosed surviving for more than five years.
The devastating disease has a 10-year survival rate of just 12 per cent, a rate that rises to over half if the cancer is detected at its earliest stage.
The first step to early diagnosis is being aware of the symptoms, Professor Sheraz Markar, a consultant oesophago-gastric surgeon at Oxford University Hospital NHS Trust said.
‘There are good treatment options if it’s caught early, but it becomes much more difficult once it has spread,’ she explains.
‘Symptoms can be be vague but a common sign is persistent heartburn. Other symptoms can include problems swallowing, feeling or being sick, unexplained weight loss or chronic indigestion.’
This was the case for Andrew Stanley, 67, from Milton Keynes who was diagnosed with stage 4 oesophageal cancer in 2023.
‘I had heartburn for years and didn’t realise it could be the sign of something more serious,’ he said.
‘I saw a doctor when I was having difficulty swallowing food but it took some time for me to be diagnosed.
He added: ‘It was a terrible shock to find out I had cancer, especially as I was told it had spread and I’d only have around two years left to live.’
Thankfully, Mr Stanley was given the opportunity to take part in a clinical trial at Churchill Hospital, Oxford, and he is now cancer free.
But others won’t be as lucky, especially if they are diagnosed at the later stages.
Together with the charity,Mr Stanley is now urging anyone who is continually taking medication for heartburn to see their GP.
Whilst these drugs don’t cause cause cancer, according to recent research, Proton Pump Inhibitors, such as omeprazole, can mask the classic symptoms of oesophageal cancer.
Around 10.5million people in Britain are thought to take PPIs, making them the second most common prescription after statins.
They work by reducing the amount of stomach acid the body produces, which provides relief of symptoms for people with chronic reflux.
The warning comes as hundreds of people in England last year were offered a ‘sponge on a string’ test to detect a precursor of the disease in high-street pharmacies for the first time.
Patients with persistent heartburn were offered to take the ‘game changer’ tablet, that when swallowed expands in the stomach.
The capsule is then pulled out using a string, allowing the captured cells to be analysed to see whether someone has Barrett’s oesophagus, which raises the risk of the disease.
The test is already widely used in hospitals to reduce the need for invasive endoscopies
In its early stages, the cancer is usually treatable, nut this depends on the size and type of the cancer, where it is, if it has spread and a patients general health.
It may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted medicines and immunotherapy.
Whilst it cannot always be prevented, the NHS recommends making healthy changes including losing weight, cutting down on alcohol, and quitting smoking to reduce your risk of developing the devastating disease.
