Previously, in April 2026, Mr. T, 69 years old, was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma and had successful liver resection surgery at the Center for Hepatobiliary, Gastrointestinal and Oncology Surgery, National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
According to MSc.BSNT Dang Hoang Quoc, Center for Hepatobiliary, Gastrointestinal and Oncology Surgery, during the preparation for liver surgery, the patient underwent esophageal-stomach endoscopy to assess the risk of esophageal varicose veins due to chronic liver disease. Through endoscopy, doctors discovered an abnormal area of the esophageal mucosa. Biopsy results determined that this was esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Doctors said that these are two completely different types of cancer, the esophageal tumor is not caused by metastatic liver cancer. Cases of contracting two primary cancers at the same time are quite rare.
After recovering from the liver resection, the patient continued to undergo surgery to treat esophageal cancer. The performing doctors performed esophageal resection, lymph node dissection and esophageal plastic surgery with the stomach. This is a large, complex surgery lasting about 9 hours due to simultaneous intervention in the neck, chest and abdomen areas, while the patient had just undergone liver surgery two months prior.
Because the tumor was discovered at an early stage and had not invaded the surrounding tissues, the removal was favorable. The surgery was successful, and the patient recovered well.
From this case, M.Sc. MD Dang Hoang Quoc warned that esophageal cancer often progresses silently. Initial symptoms may only be mild suffocation, stubborn swallowing, weight loss of unknown cause or easy choking when eating, so many people are subjective and ignore it. When the disease is detected in a late stage, the tumor has often invaded widely, significantly reducing treatment opportunities.
Experts recommend that people need to go for an early check-up if they experience prolonged swallowing, bloating, or frequent choking when eating. People at high risk such as smoking, alcohol abuse, prolonged gastroesophageal reflux disease, or frequently using food and drinks that are too hot should proactively have endoscopy and screening to detect the disease in time.
