Is Screening for Esophageal Pathology in Asymptomatic Patients Post-Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer Beneficial?

There are certain factors (i.e. alcohol, tobacco, decreased saliva production from radiation) that predispose patients with a history of head and neck cancer to have esophageal disease. Often, in the initial stages of the disease, patients do not have symptoms. However, the early detection of precancerous lesions or small cancers improves patients' chances of being cured. There is no direct data supporting the practice of screening patients with a history of head and neck cancer after treatment for esophageal disease if they are not experiencing symptoms. However, many argue that screening endoscopy is justified in high risk patients to detect early esophageal cancer or dysplasia at a curable state. We are, therefore, performing this study to determine the value of endoscopic screening of the esophagus after treatment for head and neck cancer in patients without symptoms.