What is the prognosis for esophageal cancer?

As of 2014, the five-year survival rate for those suffering from esophageal cancer is 18 percent, according to Cancer.Net. A number of factors affect a patient's prognosis, including the stage the cancer is in at the time of diagnosis.

The five-year survival rate for patients treated before cancer spreads outside of the esophagus increases from 18 percent to 40 percent, reports Cancer.Net. The five-year survival rate for those with cancer that has spread from the esophagus to the surrounding region is 21 percent, while the survival rate for those with cancer that has spread to distant organs is only 4 percent. In 2014, estimates indicated that 16,980 adults in the United States would be diagnosed with esophageal cancer and 15,590 would die from the disease.