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Kepro

Kepro’s service areas include CMS Regions 1,4, 6, 8, and 10. In December 2022, Kepro merged with CNSI. Six months later, they announced the organization had been rebranded as Acentra Health indicating that “the name Acentra Health derives from the root words “accelerate” and “central,” reflecting the company’s uncompromising resolve to be a vital partner to public sector health agencies in the delivery of comprehensive healthcare solutions and services, with “Health” being its central business focus.”

On April 30, 2024, Kepro published a special bulletin letting providers know about their name change. They encouraged providers to update their beneficiary notices, the Important Message from Medicare (IM) and the Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage (NOMNC), by replacing “Kepro” with “Acentra Health.” However, they did note that notices that still have the name “Kepro” listed will be accepted and validated and posted a list of FAQs on their website about this change. Key things to be aware of include:

• Phone numbers and fax numbers will not be changing,
• Their “go live” target date for rebranding to “Acentra Health” is August 1^st and plan to have all their items changed by fall 2024,
• Kepro has been contracted to perform Medicare’s mandatory reviews through 2029 and its CMS Regions will not be changing,
• There will be a new website with a new web address, and will be available when the name change occurs by fall 2024, and
• They encourage you to sign up to their newsletter, Case Review Connections, which includes updates and news from Kepro.

   

  A day after the special bulletin was published, on May 1, 2024, Kepro began a new process for hospital discharge appeals. Specifically, when a Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiary calls Kepro to file a discharge appeal due to concerns with their discharge planning will be transferred to the Immediate Advocacy (IA) team. This team will review the concerns, identify any gaps or misunderstandings, and determine if additional guidance is needed. You can read more about this new process on Kepro’s Hospital Discharge Appeals webpage.

   

  Livanta

  Livanta’s service areas include CMS Regions 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9. On May 17, 2024 they distributed Provider Bulletin # 21 announcing that they had been awarded the BFCC-QIO contract for case reviews from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2029. Livanta will also continue to serve as the national Medicare Claim Review contractor.

   

  Livanta’s announcement includes the following four sections:

• Section 1: Beneficiary Case Review versus Claim Review,
• Section 2: What is changing, and what is staying the same?
• Section 3: Updating Contact Information and Memoranda of Agreement, and
• Section 4: Stay in Touch with Livanta.

If you are unsure who your BFCC-QIO is, you can use the QIO “Locate Your BFCC-QIO” tool at https://qioprogram.org/locate-your-bfcc-qio.

Resource

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month.

Did You Know?

Osteoporosis is a “silent” disease because you typically do not have symptoms and may not even know you have the disease until you break a bone.

Despite this being a “silent” disease there are risk factors for developing osteoporosis, including:  

• A family history of broken bones or osteoporosis,
• History of broken bone after age 50,
• Previous surgery to remove the ovaries before menopause,
• Poor dietary habits, including insufficient amounts of calcium and or vitamin D or protein.
• Physical inactivity or prolonged periods of bedrest,
• Smoking cigarettes,
• Heavy use of alcohol,
• Long-term use of certain medications, such as corticosteroids, proton pump inhibitors, and antiepileptic medications,
• Altered level of hormones, such as too much thyroid hormone, too little estrogen in women, or too little testosterone in men, and
• Low body mass index or underweight.

Why it Matters?

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF):

• Approximately 54 million Americans have low bone density or osteoporosis.
• Women can lose up to 20% of bone mass in the first 5-7 years post-menopause.
• Men aged 50 years and older are more likely to break a bone due to osteoporosis than they are to get prostate cancer.
• Studies suggest that approximately 1 in 2 women and up to 1 in 4 men 50 and older will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime.

What Can You Do?

As we celebrate Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, here are some steps you can take to improve your bone health:

• Eat foods that support bone health. Get enough calcium, vitamin D, and protein each day. Low-fat dairy; leafy green vegetables; fish; and fortified juices, milk, and grains are good sources of calcium. If your vitamin D level is low, talk with your doctor about taking a supplement.
• Get active. Choose weight-bearing exercise, such as strength training, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing. This type of physical activity can help build and strengthen your bones.

• Don’t smoke. Smoking increases your risk of weakened bones. If you do smoke, here are tips for how to quit smoking.
• Limit alcohol consumption. Too much alcohol can harm your bones. Drink in moderation or not at all. Learn more about alcohol and aging.

Resources

National Institute of Health: National Institute on Aging: Osteoporosis: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/osteoporosis/osteoporosis

National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) May 2024 Social Media Toolkit: https://www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-OAPM-Social-Media-Toolkit.pdf

National Institute of Health: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Osteoporosis: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteoporosis

“The primary objective of the IPPS and the LTCH PPS is to create incentives for hospitals to operate efficiently and minimize unnecessary costs, while at the same time ensuring that payments are sufficient to adequately compensate hospitals for their legitimate costs in delivering necessary care to Medicare beneficiaries.”

• Source: Appendix A: Economic Analysis of FY 2025 IPPS Proposed Rule

New Technologies Eligible for Add-On Payment (NTAPs) Background

Effective for discharges beginning on or after October 1, 2002, Section 1886(d)(5)(K)(i) of the Act requires the Secretary to establish a mechanism to recognize the costs of new medical services and technologies under the payment system under the subsection which establishes the system for paying for the operating costs of inpatient hospital services.

The system of payment for capital costs is established in section 1886(g) of the Act. For this reason, capital costs are not included in the add-on payments for a new medical service or technology.

NTAPs are not budget neutral and the “newness” for payment is limited to the 2-to-3-year period after the point at which data begin to become available reflecting the inpatient hospital code assigned to the new service or technology.

There are three pathways for a new service or technology to be approved for the add-on payment (Traditional pathway, Certain Antimicrobial Products Alternative Pathway, and Certain Transformative New Devices Alternative Pathway).

For the alternative pathways, a technology is not required to have a specified FDA designation at the time the application for NTAP is made. Instead, “CMS reviews the application based on the information provided by the applicant only under the alternative pathway specified by the applicant at the time of new technology add-on payment application submission. However, to receive approval for the new technology add-on payment under that alternative pathway, the technology must have the applicable FDA designation and meet all other requirements in the regulations in § 412.87(c) and (d), as applicable.”

Coding NTAPs

Section X New Technology was added to ICD-10-PCS effective October 1, 2015. CMS has indicated (https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD10/Downloads/2016-Section-X-New-Technology-.pdf) that “Section X was created in response to public comments received regarding New Technology proposals presented at ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meetings, and general issues facing classification of new technology procedures.”  To receive payment for an eligible NTAP, the applicable section X New Technology ICD-10-PCS code must be on the claim submitted for adjudication.

NTAPs by the Numbers

For FY 2025, CMS has proposed to:

• Discontinue 7 technologies no longer considered to be “new,”
• Continue coverage for 24 technologies they consider to still be “new,” and
• Have assessed 26 applications.

For the 24 technologies that CMS considers to still be “new,” CMS estimates that collectively there will be 50,910 cases with an estimated total financial impact of just over $416 million.

Based on preliminary information from the FY 2025 applicants for new technology approval, CMS estimates the collective impact to be $345.3 million.

FY 2025 NTAP Program Proposals

Consistent with CMS’ Sickle Cell Disease Action Plan, CMS is proposing to increase the NTAP percentage from 65% to 75% for a gene therapy that is indicated specifically for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) (subject to CMS’ determination in the FY 2025 IPPS final rule that any applicable gene therapy(ies) indicated and used specifically for treatment of SCD meets the criteria for approval for NTAP).

CMS has also proposed to use the October 1^st start of a new fiscal year, instead of April 1^st, to determine whether a technology is within its 2- to 3- year newness period. This change would be effective in FY 2026 for new applicants and extending the NTP an additional year for technologies initially approved in FY 2025.

CMS is accepting comments on the proposed rule through June 10, 2024.

Resource

FY 2025 IPPS Proposed Rule CMS webpage:

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/fy-2025-ipps-proposed-rule-home-page

The FY 2025 IPPS Proposed Rule (CMS-1808-P) was issued by CMS April 10, 2024. This article focuses on proposed changes to Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Group (MS-DRG) classifications.

MDC 05: Diseases and Disorders of the Circulatory System

Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) with Concomitant Ablation

Request: Create a new MS-DRG to better accommodate the cost of concomitant left atrial appendage closure and cardiac ablation for atrial fibrillation. “According to the requester, the manufacturer of the WATCHMAN™ Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) device, patients who are indicated for a LAAC device can also have symptomatic AF. For these patients performing a cardiac ablation and LAAC procedure at the same time is ideal.”

CMS Proposal: After claims analysis CMS indicated that “taking into consideration that it clinically requires greater resources to perform concomitant left atrial appendage closure and cardiac ablation procedures, we are proposing to create a new base MS-DRG for cases reporting a LAAC procedure and a cardiac ablation procedure in MDC 05. The proposed new MS-DRG is MS-DRG 317 (Concomitant Left Atrial Appendage Closure and Cardiac Ablation).”

CMS has proposed to include the nine ICD-10-PCS procedure codes that describe LAAC procedures and 27 ICD-10-PCS procedure codes describing cardiac ablation for the proposed new MS-DRG.

Neuromodulation Device Implant for Heart Failure (Barostim™ Baroreflex Activation Therapy)

The BAROSTIM™ system is the first neuromodulation device system designated to trigger the body’s main cardiovascular reflex to target symptoms of heart failure. The system is indicated for the improvement of symptoms of heart failure in a subset of patients with symptomatic New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or Class II heart failure, with a low left ventricular ejection fraction, who also do not benefit from guideline directed pharmacologic therapy or qualify for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT).

This system was approved for new technology add-on payments for FY 2021 and FY 2022 and was discontinued in FY 2023.

Request: A request was submitted to reassign the ICD-10-PCS procedure codes describing the BAROSTIM™ system from MS-DRGs 252, 253, and 254 (Other Vascular Procedures with MCC, with CC, and without MCC respectively) to MS-DRGs 275 (Cardiac Defibrillator Implant with Cardiac Catheterization with MCC), MS-DRGs 276 and 277 (Cardiac Defibrillator Implant with MCC and without MCC respectively); or to other more clinically coherent MS-DRGs for implantable device procedures indicated for Class III heart failure patients. ICD-10-PCS codes uniquely identifying the implantation of the BAROSTIM™ system includes:

• 0JH60MZ (Insertion of stimulator generator into chest subcutaneous tissue and fascia, open approach)
• in combination with
• 03HK3MZ (Insertion of stimulator lead into right internal carotid artery, percutaneous approach) or
• 03HL3MZ (Insertion of stimulator lead into left internal carotid artery, percutaneous approach).

CMS Response: While there is no intravascular component when implanting a BAROSTIM™ system, they did agree that ICD, CRT-D, and CCM devices and the BAROSTIM™ system are clinically coherent in that they share an indication of heart failure, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, and that these cases demonstrate comparable resource utilization. As such, they are proposing to reassign the cases reporting procedure codes describing implantation of a BAROSTIM™ system to MS-DRG 276, even if there is no MCC reported, to better reflect the clinical severity and resource use involved.

They are also proposing to change the title of MS-DRG 276 from “Cardiac Defibrillator Implant with MCC” to “Cardiac Defibrillator Implant with MCC or Carotid Sinus Neurostimulator.”

As part of the Annual Proposed and Final Rule process, CMS evaluates diagnosis codes and their impact on hospital resource utilization. The following timeline of events highlights CMS efforts from FY 2008 to what is being proposed in the FY 2025 IPPS Proposed Rule.

FY 2008 IPPS Final Rule

CMS described their process for establishing three different levels of CC severity into which diagnosis codes would be subdivided. The categorization of diagnoses as a MCC, a CC, or a NonCC was accomplished by evaluating each diagnosis code to determine the extent to which its presence as a secondary diagnosis would result in increased hospital resource use.

FY 2020 IPPS Proposed Rule

CMS noted with the transition to ICD-10-CM and the significant changes to diagnosis codes since FY 2008, a new comprehensive analysis was warranted. At that time, CMS proposed changes to the severity level designation for 1,492 ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes. After consideration of comments received, the proposal was not finalized.

October 8, 2019

CMS held a listening session that included a review of the methodology CMS utilized to mathematically measure the impact on resource use.

FY 2021 IPPS Final Rule

CMS discussed their plan to continue a comprehensive CC/MCC analysis, using a combination of mathematical analysis of claims data and the application of the following nine guiding principles:

1. Represents end of life/near death or has reached an advanced stage associated with systemic physiologic decompensation and disability,
2. Denotes organ system instability or failure.
3. Involves a chronic illness with susceptibility to exacerbations or abrupt decline.
4. Serves as a marker for advanced disease states across multiple different comorbid conditions.
5. Reflects systemic impact.
6. Post-operative/post-procedure condition/complication impacting recovery.
7. Typically requires higher level of care (that is, intensive monitoring, greater number of caregivers, additional testing, intensive care unit care, extended length of stay).
8. Impedes patient cooperation or management of care or both.
9. Recent (in the last 10 years) changes in best practice, or in practice guidelines and review of the extent to which these changes have led to concomitant changes in expected resource use.

FY 2025 IPPS Proposed Rule: CMS indicates they have continued to solicit feedback since the nine guiding principles were first introduced in the FY 2021 IPPS Final Rule but have received no additional feedback or comments since then. They are now proposing to finalize the nine guiding principles to be used in combination with mathematical analysis of claims to determine the extent to which the presence of a diagnosis code as a secondary diagnosis resulting in increased hospital resource use.

FY 2025 Proposed ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Severity Changes

For FY 2025, CMS is proposing the addition of four ICD-10-CM codes to the MCC list, the addition of twenty-nine ICD-10-CM codes to the CC list, and eighteen ICD-10-CM codes be deleted from the CC list.

Question:

A few of our providers document that conditions are hospital-acquired while others document healthcare-acquired.  Are these two terms synonymous?  Are they both assigned as nosocomial?

Answer: Yes.  Per Coding Clinic, Fourth Quarter 2013:  Page 118,

The term hospital-acquired indicates that a patient has contracted a condition from being in the hospital setting, e.g., inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, etc.

The term healthcare-acquired indicates that a patient has contracted a condition from being in another type of healthcare facility, besides a hospital, e.g., nursing home, rehab, etc.

A documented acquired condition may include pneumonia, sepsis, influenza, etc.

Both documented hospital-acquired conditions and healthcare-acquired conditions can be assigned as a nosocomial condition (Y95), which is found in the External Cause of Morbidity section of the ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index, under Nosocomial.

Reference

Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS, Fourth Quarter 2013:  Page 118

Did You Know?

According to the National Cancer Institute, bladder cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men in the United States and the incidence of bladder cancer is about four times higher in men than in women.

Bladder Cancer Symptoms

Although symptoms can vary from person to person, the most common symptom is blood in the urine, called hematuria. Although this is the most common presenting symptom, most people experiencing hematuria do not have bladder cancer. Other common symptoms include:

• Frequent urination,
• Pain or burning during urination,
• Feeling as if you need to urinate even if your bladder is not full, and
• Frequent urination during the night.

   

  If the cancer has grown large or spread beyond the bladder, symptoms may include:

• Being unable to urinate
• Lower back pain on one side of the body
• Pain in the abdomen
• Bone pain or tenderness
• Unintended weight loss and loss of appetite
• Swelling in the feet, and
• Feeling tired.

   

  Why it Matters?

  There are risk factors related to developing bladder cancer, most common being tobacco use, especially smoking cigarettes. Examples of additional risk factors includes:

• Having a family history of bladder cancer,
• Having certain changes in the genes that are linked to bladder cancer,
• Being exposed to paints, dyes, metals, or petroleum products in the workplace,
• Past treatment with radiation therapy to the pelvis or with certain anticancer drugs, such as cyclophosphamide or ifosfamide,
• Taking Aristolochia fangchi, a Chinese herb,
• Drinking water from a well that has high levels of arsenic,
• Drinking water that has been treated with chlorine,
• Having a history of bladder infections, and
• Using urinary catheters for a long time.

What Can I Do?

First, if you smoke, quit! If you think you may be at risk for bladder cancer and/or are experiencing symptoms common for bladder cancer, discuss this with your physician. Time matters. The earlier bladder cancer is identified, the better chance a person has of surviving five years after diagnosis.

Resources:

PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. PDQ Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancer Screening. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 03/15/2024. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/hp/bladder-screening-pdq. Accessed 04/30/2024. [PMID:26389217]

National Cancer Institute – Bladder Cancer Symptoms. Updated 01/16/2023. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/symptoms. Accessed 04/30/2024.

Compliance Education Updates

March 2024: MLN8659122: MLN Fact Sheet Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage Updated

CMS updated the payment rules for patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage Organizations. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mln8659122-original-medicare-vs-medicare-advantage.pdf

April 2024: MLN Educational Tool Medicare Preventive Services Revised

CMS has revised this tool to clarify social determinants of health information, add a link to the most current and comprehensive list of ICD-10 codes for bone mass measurement and colorectal cancer screening, add coding, coverage, and payment information for COVID-19 vaccine and administration, and replace Hepatis B information with a link to the Hepatitis B screening service. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Prevention/PrevntionGenInfo/medicare-preventive-services/MPS-QuickReferenceChart-1.html

Other Updates

March 26, 2024: GAO Improper Payments: Information on Agencies’ Fiscal Year 2023 Estimates

In this report the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates the importance of this information due to the fact that “improper payments – those that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount – have consistently been a government-wide issue. Since fiscal year 2003, cumulative improper payment estimated by executive branch agencies have totaled about $2.7 trillion. Reducing improper payments is critical to safeguarding federal funds.” With an estimated $51 billion in estimated improper payments HHC’s Medicare (Medicare Fee-for-Service (Parts A and B), Medicare Advantage (Part C), and Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D)) had the highest estimated improper payments across 14 government agencies.

https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106927.pdf?emci=4185bdfa-36ed-ee11-aaf0-002248223794&emdi=645794fb-40ed-ee11-aaf0-002248223794&ceid=7931774

March 27, 2024: CMS Releases FY 2025 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule (CMS-1804-P)

CMS is proposing to update payment rates by 2.8 percent. This proposed rule includes annual updates to the prospective payment rates, the outlier threshold, the case-mix-group relative weights and average length of stay values, the wage index, associated impact analysis, and IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP). Also included are two requests for information (RFIs) (1) Future Measure Concepts for the IRF QRP, and (2) Creating and IRF QRP Star Rating System.

CMS Fact Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fiscal-year-2025-inpatient-rehabilitation-facility-prospective-payment-system-proposed-rule-cms-1804

CMS Proposed Rule: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/inpatient-rehabilitation/rules-related-files/cms-1804-p

IRF QRP webpage: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/inpatient-rehabilitation-facility

March 28, 2024: CMS Issues 3 FY 2025 Proposed Rules: SNF, Inpatient Psych and Hospice

FY 2025 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule (CMS 1802-P) CMS Fact Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fy-25-skilled-nursing-facility-prospective-payment-system-proposed-rule-cms-1802-p

FY 2025 Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) and Quality Reporting (IPFQR) Updates Proposed Rule (CMS-1806-P) CMS Fact Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fiscal-year-2025-medicare-inpatient-psychiatric-facilities-prospective-payment-system-ipf-pps-and

• Of note, CMS has proposed to increase the per treatment amount for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from the current FY 2024 payment per treatment of $385.58 to $660.30. CMS believes this increase would help ensure that patients who need ECT are more able to access it. (ECT CPT 90870)

Medicare MLN Articles

March 20, 2024: MLN MM11003: Electronic Medical Documentation Requests via the Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation System – Revised

This MLN was first released February 1, 2019. In the March 20, 2024 revision to this article, CMS has added information about the implementation of a new feature to accept review outcome letters during October 2023 release. https://www.cms.gov/outreach-and-education/medicare-learning-network-mln/mlnmattersarticles/downloads/mm11003.pdf

April 4, 2024: MLN MM13577: Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Update – April 2024

Make sure your billing staff knows about new CPT and HCPCS codes, Device code changes, iDose TR (travoprost intracameral implant) for the treatment of glaucoma, Drug and biological code changes, and Skin code updates. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mm13577-ambulatory-surgical-center-payment-update-april-2024.pdf

April 15, 2024: MLN MM13574: DMEPOS Fee Schedule: April 2024 Quarterly Update – Revised

This MLN article was revised on April 15^th to show the addition of 4 HCPCS Level II codes to Common Working File category 58. CMS also revised the effective date and the web address of Change Request (CR) 13574). https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mm13574-dmepos-fee-schedule-april-2024-quarterly-update.pdf

April 15, 2024: MLN MM13587: Medicare Claims Processing Manual Update: Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility

CMS advised that you make sure your billing staff know that hospitals may open a new IRF unit at any time during the cost reporting year, and any IRF unit excluded during a cost reporting Year will stay excluded for the rest of the cost reporting year. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mm13587-medicare-claims-processing-manual-update-inpatient-rehabilitation-facility.pdf

Coverage Updates

April 15, 2024: CMS Releases Fact Sheet for Potential NCD for Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrER) Using Antiretroviral Drugs to Prevent HIV

CMS is sharing this information to encourage pharmacies and other interested parties to prepare for a potential National Coverage Determination (NCD) for PrEP Using Antiretroviral Drugs to Prevent HIV.

• National Coverage Analysis (NCA) Tracking Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/ncacal-tracking-sheet.aspx?NCAId=310
• CMS Fact Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/fact-sheet-potential-medicare-part-b-coverage-preexposure-prophylaxis-prep-using-antiretroviral.pdf

April 16, 2024: MLN MM13512: National Coverage Determination 20.7: Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty

This article provides education about the changes in coverage for PTA of the carotid artery concurrent with stenting effective October 11, 2023:

• Patients don’t have to enroll in a clinical trial.
• Facilities don’t need CMS approval to perform this service.
• You must engage in a formal shared decision-making (SDM) process with the patient. This must include documentation of four key elements outlined in this MLN article.
• MACs can decide if this service is covered if it’s not addressed in this NCD.

Note, your MAC will adjust claims processed in error that you bring to their attention. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mm13215-national-coverage-determination-207-percutaneous-transluminal-angioplasty.pdf

Did You Know?

• Esophageal cancer is more common in men.
• The two most common types of esophageal cancer are adenocarcinoma (most common in White people) and squamous cell carcinoma (more common in African Americans).

Estimated New Cases and Deaths from Esophageal Cancer in the United States in 2024

• New Cases: 22,370, an increase from the 21,560 estimated new cases in 2023
• Deaths: 16,130, an increase the from 16,120 estimated deaths in 2023

   

  Esophageal Cancer Risk Factors

  Risk Factors for Squamous Cell Esophageal Cancer include the following:

• Tobacco use.
• Heavy alcohol use.
• Being malnourished.
• Being infected with human papillomavirus (HPV).
• Having tylosis:
• Having achalasia:
• Having swallowed lye (a chemical found in some cleaning fluids).
• Drinking very hot liquids on a regular basis.

   

  Risk Factors for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma include the following:

• Having gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
• Having Barret’s esophagus.
• Having a history of using drugs that relax the lower esophageal sphincter (the ring of muscle that opens and closes the opening between the esophagus and stomach).
• Being overweight.

Signs and Symptoms of Esophageal Cancer

• Painful or difficult swallowing.
• Weight loss.
• Pain behind the breastbone.
• Hoarseness and cough.
• Indigestion and heartburn.
• A lump under the skin.

Tests Used to Diagnose Esophageal Cancer

• Physical exam and health history.
• Chest x-ray.
• Esophagoscopy.
• Biopsy.

Why it Matters?

In most cases, esophageal cancer is a treatable but rarely curable disease. The five-year survival rate is 21.76%.

Patients have a better chance of recovery when esophageal cancer is found early. Only 18.1% of patients are diagnosed with esophageal cancer at the localized level. The five-year survival rate for this group of patients is 48.8%.

Signs and symptoms associated with esophageal cancer can also be present with other diseases. If you have any of the signs and symptoms mentioned in this article, discuss them with your doctor.

Resources

PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Esophageal Cancer Treatment (Adult). Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 2/6/2024. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/esophageal/hp/esophageal-treatment-pdq. Accessed 04/03/2024. [PMID: 26389338]

PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. PDQ Esophageal Cancer Prevention. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 07/30/2021 Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/esophageal/patient/esophageal-prevention-pdq. Accessed 04/03/2024. [PMID: 26389280]

PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Esophageal Center Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 09/21/2023. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/esophageal/patient/esophageal-treatment-pdq. Accesses 04/03/2024. [PMID: 26389463]