RT Book, Section A1 Nelson, Rebecca A. A1 Smith, David D. A1 Schwarz, Roderich E. A2 Morita, Shane Y. A2 Balch, Charles M. A2 Klimberg, V. Suzanne A2 Pawlik, Timothy M. A2 Posner, Mitchell C. A2 Tanabe, Kenneth K. SR Print(0) ID 1145760964 T1 Epidemiology and Staging of Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer T2 Textbook of Complex General Surgical Oncology YR 2018 FD 2018 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071793315 LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1145760964 RD 2024/10/09 AB The upper gastrointestinal (UGI) system, as addressed within this chapter, is comprised of the esophagus, the stomach, and the small intestine. Anatomically, the cervical esophagus is bordered superiorly by the hypopharynx and inferiorly by the thoracic inlet. The intrathoracic esophagus extends to the diaphragmatic hiatus, from where the intra-abdominal esophagus extends to the esophagogastric junction (EGJ). The gastric cardia, identified by origin of the rugal folds, represents the highest part of the stomach, followed by fundus, body, antrum, and pylorus. Duodenum, jejunum, and ileum are the three major small bowel components. Malignant tumors even within the same part of the UGI tract may require distinct therapeutic interventions based on their location (i.e., cervical vs. lower thoracic esophagus, duodenum vs. ileum). EGJ cancer, while possibly a special entity when it comes to therapeutic decision making, lacks separate epidemiologic data and is therefore embedded, based on EGJ cancer type and the United States Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) distinction, within esophageal or gastric cancer data. In the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging from 2010, EGJ cancer stage criteria follow those of esophageal adenocarcinoma.1