Esophageal cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells that line the inner esophagus. The esophagus is a muscular tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach to be digested. This type of cancer can occur anywhere in the esophagus, but is most commonly found in the lower esophagus in people who develop it in the United States. Esophageal cancer in the United States is quite rare; it makes up about 1 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. It is more common in northern China, Iran, southern Africa, and India.