The primary risk factor is Barrett's esophagus.
More common in men than women.
Most commonly seen in the lower third of the esophagus.
Grossly appears as exophytic or ulcerative form which deeply infiltrates the underlying tissues.
Microscopically, the tumor appears as an adenocarcinoma with various degress of differentiation. The precursor of the cancer is the dysplastic lesions in the Barrett's esophagus. These precursor lesions, based on the atypia of glands are graded as low grade and high grade dysplasias. The tumor may appear as signet ring cells, or may be mixed with squamous cell carcinoma.