What is oesophageal cancer?

Oesophageal (also spelt esophageal in the US) cancer begins when abnormal cells develop in the innermost layer (mucosa) of the oesophagus. If it is not found and treated early, oesophageal cancer can spread to nearby lymph nodes or to other parts of the body, most commonly the liver and lungs. It can also grow through the oesophageal wall and into nearby structures.

You can access further information about oesophageal cancer, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.

The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.

How common is oesophageal cancer?

In 2024, 428 Victorians were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Of these, there were 301 males and 127 females, representing 70% and 30% of the total Victorian oesophageal cancer diagnoses, respectively. Currently, oesophageal cancer is diagnosed at a rate of 7.3 per 100,000 males and 2.6 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of oesophageal cancer is 70 years in males and 76 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 1.1% of all cancers diagnosed and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths in 2024, oesophageal cancer was the 22nd most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 13th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.

Trends in oesophageal cancer over time

Figure 3a shows for males between 1994 to 2024 the age standardised incidence rate of oesophageal cancer declined by an average of 0.67% per year.

For females between 1982 to 2024 the age standardised incidence rate of oesophageal cancer declined by an average of 1.2% per year.

Oesophageal cancer morphology

Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused oesophageal cancer among all cases. Most oesophageal cancer tumours, 50%, present as adenocarcinoma tumours.

Oesophageal cancer subtypes

Figure 5 provides a breakdown of oesophageal cancer by subsite location in 2024. Most (61%) are found in the Lower, including oesophageal-gastric junction section of the oesophagus.

Geographical variance in oesophageal cancer by local government area

Figure 6 demonstrates variation in the estimated risk of being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, by local government area, relative to the Victorian average. Red shading indicates areas with higher risk and blue shading indicates areas with lower risk relative to Victoria.

Oesophageal cancer in people born overseas

Figure 7 shows the standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of oesophageal cancers in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2019 to 2023. The highest standardised incidence ratio (SIR) for oesophageal cancers was 1.1 for males born in the UK and Ireland region and the lowest SIR of 0.31 was observed in males born in the South and Central America region. The highest standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of oesophageal cancers was 1.3 for females born in the UK and Ireland region and the lowest SIR of 0.33 was observed in females born in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Oesophageal cancer five-year relative survival

Figure 8 shows the change in 5-year survival for oesophageal cancer, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for oesophageal cancer between 1985-1989 and 2020-2024 from 10% to 27%.