10 Esophageal Cancer Symptoms
6. Blood in Stools
Esophageal cancer may cause gradual bleeding into the esophagus. Hence, people with this condition may experience blood in stools. However, the presence of blood in our stools may not always be so obvious. In this case, gastrointestinal bleeding can manifest as melena, also known as the passage of tarry, black stools. In most cases, black stools are a sign of upper gastrointestinal bleeding because the hemoglobin in the blood is digested through the rest of the digestive tract by enzymes and intestinal bacteria, turning the resulting stools black.
As a result of chronic bleeding, blood loss in esophageal cancer can result in anemia or a low level of circulating red blood cells. Esophageal cancer typically causes iron-deficiency anemia.
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