Oesophageal Cancer Statistics


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 2022, 377 Victorians were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Of these, there were 260 males and 117 females, representing 69% and 31% of the total Victorian oesophageal cancer diagnoses, respectively. Currently, oesophageal cancer is diagnosed at a rate of 4.2 per 100,000 males and 1.4 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% of all cancers diagnosed and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths in 2022, oesophageal cancer was the 20th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 13th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.


Figure 1: Distribution of oesophageal cancer incidence in 2022, by sex within age groups
3 1 8 3 36 8 75 23 88 38 50 44 0 25 50 75 Under 40 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80+ Age at diagnosis (years) Number of diagnoses in 2022 Male Female

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Figure 2: Distribution of oesophageal cancer incidence in 2022, compared to the distribution of the Victorian population in 2022, by 5-year age brackets
0% 4% 8% 12% 16% Percentage of population Population distribution by age 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85+ -0.050 -0.025 0.000 0.025 0.050 0% 4% 8% 12% 16% Percentage of population Oesophageal cancer distribution by age

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)

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, 49.4%, present as Adenocarcinoma tumours.


Figure 4: Distribution of oesophageal cancer morphologies between 2013-2022
49.4%37.9%7.06%5.63%
AdenocarcinomaSquamous cell carcinomaUnspecified cell typeOther cell types

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Oesophageal cancer subtypes

Figure 5 provides a breakdown of oesophageal cancer by subsite location in 2022. Most (57.6%) are found in the Lower, including oesophageal-gastric junction section of the oesophagus.


Figure 5: Distribution of oesophageal cancer subsites in 2022
57.6%17%14.9%6.9%2.92%0.796%
Lower, including oesophageal-gastric junctionMiddleUnspecified siteUpperOverlapping sectionsnull

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)

Geographical variance in oesophageal cancer by local government area

Figure 6 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of oesophageal cancer, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of oesophageal cancer.


Figure 6: Variation in the incidence of oesophageal cancer for the period 2018-2022, by location of residence in Victoria

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Oesophageal cancer in people born overseas

Figure 7 shows the age standardised incidence rates of oesophageal cancers in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2017 to 2021. The highest age standardised incidence rate for oesophageal cancers was 6.5 for males born in the UK and Ireland region and the lowest rate of 0.6 was observed in males born in the North America region. The highest age standardised incidence rate of oesophageal cancers was 2 for females born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 0.4 was observed in females born in the Middle East and North Africa region.


Figure 7: Age standardised incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals for oesophageal cancer in Victorians born in Australia compared to Victorians born in other countries for the period 2017-2021, by sex
020406080100North AmericaSouth and Central AmericaAfricaOther EuropeMiddle East and North AfricaSouthern EuropeUK and IrelandNorth-East AsiaSouth-East AsiaSouthern and Central AsiaAustralia and New Zealand
MaleAge standardised incidence rate (per 100,000)

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


020406080North AmericaSouth and Central AmericaAfricaOther EuropeMiddle East and North AfricaSouthern EuropeUK and IrelandNorth-East AsiaSouth-East AsiaSouthern and Central AsiaAustralia and New Zealand
FemaleAge standardised incidence rate (per 100,000)

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)



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 1982-1986 and 2017-2021 from 12% to 25%.

Figure 8: Trend in five year relative survival following diagnosis of oesophageal cancer in five year brackets, from the period 1982-1986 to 2017-2021
0 20 40 60 80 100 1982-1986 1987-1991 1992-1996 1997-2001 2002-2006 2007-2011 2012-2016 2017-2021 Year 5-year relative survival (%) Five-year relative survival across all cancers

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)

This webpage was last updated in June 2024

Talking bubbles icon

Questions about cancer?

Call or email our experienced cancer nurses for information and support.

Contact a cancer nurse