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Condition (MeSH)

Esophageal Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 5,171 trials for Esophageal Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. AstraZeneca has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 110.

MeSH D004935 Digestive System Diseases C06
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Phase 1 Phase 1 453 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 191 Phase 2 Phase 2 851 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 65 Phase 3 Phase 3 354 Phase 4 Phase 4 238 Not applicable Not applicable 1,652 Observational Observational 1,359 Phase 1 Phase 1 453 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 191 Phase 2 Phase 2 851 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 65 Phase 3 Phase 3 354 Phase 4 Phase 4 238 Not applicable Not applicable 1,652 Observational Observational 1,359

Trials per phase (log scale)

1 more section with rows

92 of the 5,171 trials are tagged with Esophageal Diseases itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Esophageal Diseases report as a PDF

The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Esophageal Diseases trials start? (35)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 14 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational

Top of scale: 361

1992: 2 trials (Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1) 1993: 1 trials (Phase 3 1) 1994: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 1 1) 1995: 11 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 3) 1996: 14 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 3) 1997: 13 trials (Not applicable 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 2) 1998: 19 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 3, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 1999: 15 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2000: 37 trials (Observational 6, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 5, Phase 2 18, Phase 1 7) 2001: 40 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 13, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 5) 2002: 48 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 6, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 14, Phase 1 3) 2003: 53 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 14, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 7) 2004: 78 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 9, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 8) 2005: 95 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 15, Phase 4 13, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 23, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 10) 2006: 137 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 19, Phase 3 23, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 27, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 12) 2007: 138 trials (Observational 45, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 14, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 23, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 14) 2008: 145 trials (Observational 42, Not applicable 22, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 25, Phase 1/2 6, Phase 1 17) 2009: 138 trials (Observational 43, Not applicable 33, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 12, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 15) 2010: 156 trials (Observational 52, Not applicable 38, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 30, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 13) 2011: 145 trials (Observational 50, Not applicable 36, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 29, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 10) 2012: 170 trials (Observational 42, Not applicable 59, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 27, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 10) 2013: 174 trials (Observational 40, Not applicable 60, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 24, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 18) 2014: 191 trials (Observational 47, Not applicable 66, Phase 4 13, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 21, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 20) 2015: 180 trials (Observational 43, Not applicable 69, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 12) 2016: 215 trials (Observational 47, Not applicable 90, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 28, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 13) 2017: 253 trials (Observational 71, Not applicable 85, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 40, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 20) 2018: 224 trials (Observational 59, Not applicable 83, Phase 4 8, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 22, Phase 1/2 11, Phase 1 20) 2019: 249 trials (Observational 69, Not applicable 90, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 42, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 22) 2020: 279 trials (Observational 91, Not applicable 86, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 16, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 43, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 25) 2021: 290 trials (Observational 82, Not applicable 110, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 16, Phase 2 42, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 24) 2022: 319 trials (Observational 89, Not applicable 128, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 37, Phase 1/2 15, Phase 1 25) 2023: 329 trials (Observational 97, Not applicable 114, Phase 4 9, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 45, Phase 1/2 20, Phase 1 33) 2024: 361 trials (Observational 89, Not applicable 147, Phase 4 11, Phase 3 13, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 69, Phase 1/2 10, Phase 1 19) 2025: 322 trials (Observational 87, Not applicable 108, Phase 4 6, Phase 3 15, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 58, Phase 1/2 12, Phase 1 32)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 263
2025 322
2024 361
2023 329
2022 319
2021 290
2020 279
2019 249
2018 224
2017 253

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 320 trials starting in 2026 and about 330 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 13 percent and ran about 12 percent low against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 19 percent and ran about 17 percent low against the count later registered, and had about the same error as repeating last year's count. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 36 months from start to primary completion across 556 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 28 months across 2,728 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Esophageal Diseases trials in? (9)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 453
Phase 1/2 191
Phase 2 851
Phase 2/3 65
Phase 3 354
Phase 4 238
Not applicable 1,652
Observational 1,359
Expanded access 8

How many Esophageal Diseases trials are recruiting? (11)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 270
Recruiting 766
Enrolling by invitation 65
Active, not recruiting 194
Available 3

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Esophageal Diseases trials? (3)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
AstraZeneca 110
National Cancer Institute (NCI) 53
Takeda 45

Which drugs are being tested for Esophageal Diseases? (8)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
(nab)-paclitaxel 124
OXALIPLATIN 83
PEMBROLIZUMAB 75
Irinotecan 69
"Capecitabine" 55

Interventions as named in the registry (7)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Cisplatin 1 154
Fluorouracile 126
Nexium Pill 105
Radiation Therapy 77
Radiotherapy 76

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Esophageal Diseases trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Pneumonia 647 79
Vomiting 408 99
Nausea 402 84
Dysphagia 398 85
Dehydration 394 93

Which publications cover Esophageal Diseases? (151)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Sub-conditions in MeSH (9)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.

Browse all condition evidence pages