Barium x-rays include a variety of radiographic tests in which a barium compound is swallowed or delivered by enema (the administration of a substance, such as barium, into the patient’s rectum through a tube). The barium coats various internal organs, such as the esophagus and the inner lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This highlights abnormalities – including potentially cancerous growths – and allows a physician to view them on x-ray images.

Barium reveals tumors and ulcers because it collects in abnormal areas or around growths. Barium also reveals problems with swallowing or digestion because it can be filmed passing through the mouth, throat and intestines.

Barium x-rays can help diagnose several types of gastrointestinal system cancers, including:

• Colorectal cancer. Cancer of the colon and recturm, the two organs that comprise the large intestine.
  

  

• Small intestine cancer. Cancer of the long tube that connects the stomach to the large intestine. Types of small intestine cancer include:
  
  
• • Gastrointestinal stromal tumors
  • Gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors
  • Adenocarcinoma
  • Sarcoma
  • Lymphoma
    
    
• Esophageal cancer. Cancer of the esophagus, the muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach.
  
  
• Stomach cancer. Also known as gastric cancer, it affects the sac-like organ that holds food and secretes gastric juice to start the digestive process.
  
  
• Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer. Cancers that start in or around the larynx, commonly known as the voice box.

In some cases, barium x-ray tests are ordered to look for the spread of a cancer from one area of the body into the gastrointestinal tract. Such cancers include:

• Ovarian cancer. Overgrowth of malignant, abnormal cells in one or both of a woman’s ovaries. The ovaries are female reproductive organs that produce eggs called ova and hormones called estrogen and progesterone.
  
  
• Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. Oral cancer is cancer that starts in the mouth, also called the oral cavity. Oropharyngeal cancer develops in the part of the throat just behind the mouth, called the oropharynx.

In addition, barium x-ray tests are used to diagnose conditions that may or may not be related to cancer, such as:

• Dysphagia. Difficulty swallowing, which can be caused by a number of medical conditions.
  
  
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). A disorder in which stomach acid moves upward from the stomach into the esophagus.
  
  
• Peptic ulcers. Ulcers in the stomach or upper part of the small intestine.
  
  
• Hernias. Opening or weakness in the wall of a muscle, tissue or membrane that normally holds an organ in place.
  
  
• Diverticulosis. Bulging pouches in the digestive tract.

Barium is a soft metallic element. The type commonly used in medical tests is the compound barium sulfate, which is usually referred to simply as barium. It is not radioactive but radiopaque. Since radiation will not pass through barium, it shows up on x-rays as a light area, making it a type of contrast medium.

Barium tests can use standard x-rays, fluoroscopy, cineradiography or a combination of these machines. Fluoroscopy uses a video monitor and an x-ray tube that makes an element brighter and easier to see (an image intensifier). Cineradiography (also called videofluoroscopy) uses a movie camera to turn images produced by standard x-rays or fluoroscopy into a record of movement. Videofluoroscopy is used to examine the passage of food through the mouth, throat or stomach.

Definitions of the types of barium x-ray vary according to physician and facility.  It is important for patients to ask the physician or facility for clarification of the specific procedure.