Persistent hiccupping in addition to weight-loss and difficulty swallowing could be a warning sign of cancer of the oesophagus, an Irish researcher said on April 19.
Professor Tom Walsh, of the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Dublin, told a meeting of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that some patients with oesophageal cancer complain of persistent hiccups. "Up to now, hiccups have not been recognised as a possible harbinger of cancer," Walsh said.