What is gastro oesophageal junction cancer?

This page is about gastro oesophageal cancer. There is information on

 
 

What gastro oesophageal cancer is

Gastro oesophageal junction (GOJ) cancer develops at the point where your food pipe (oesophagus) joins your stomach. Doctors call this part of the body the gastro oesophageal junction. The number of people who develop this type of cancer is going up.

Doctors stage gastro oesophageal junction (GOJ) cancers as oesophageal cancers. The stage of a cancer tells the doctor how far it has spread. You can read about the different stages of oesophageal cancer in the 'treating oesophageal cancer' section of CancerHelp UK. 

It can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between stomach, oesophagus and GOJ cancers. But we know from research that GOJ cancers are a separate type of cancer. They behave differently to cancers of the oesophagus and stomach and need different treatments.

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Types of gastro oesophageal junction cancer

Doctors divide GOJ cancers into 3 types.

  • Type 1 is when the cancer spreads down into the gastro oesophageal junction from above - the normal lining of the lower end of the oesophagus is replaced with abnormal cells (Barrett’s oesophagus)
  • Type 2 is when the cancer develops at the actual gastro oesophageal junction
  • Type 3 is when the cancer spreads up into the gastro oesophageal junction from below (so from the stomach upwards).

It is important to find out which type of cancer you have. Then you can have the right treatment. We have a separate question and answer about the treatment for gastro oesophageal junction cancer.

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