| [ Summary ] |
Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, with an estimate of 456,000 new cases and 400,000 deaths in 2012. In general, it is more common in men than in women, and such sex difference can also be observed in Japan, where the incidence and mortality rates are approximately five times higher in men than in women. The number of esophageal cancer cases and deaths has steadily increased in Japan mainly due to the aging of the population, while age‒standardized rates have been gradually decreasing with the only exception of the increasing incidence rate in men. Esophageal cancer has two histological types, namely, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The former is predominant in Japan. The established risk factors for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus are tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking, whereas those for adenocarcinoma are tobacco smoking and obesity. Despite conflicting evidence, fruit and vegetable intake protects against esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the Japanese population. |