|
Table of Contents Overview of Prevention
Esophageal Cancer Prevention
Get More Information From NCI
Changes to This Summary (07/12/2007)
Questions or Comments About This Summary
About PDQ
Overview of Prevention
Prevention
Doctors cannot always explain why one person gets cancer and another does not.
However, scientists have studied general patterns of cancer in the population
to learn what things around us and what things we do in our lives may increase
our chance of developing cancer.
Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor; anything that decreases a person’s chance of developing a disease
is called a protective factor. Some of the risk factors for cancer can be
avoided, but many cannot. For example, although you can choose to quit
smoking, you cannot choose which genes you have inherited from your parents.
Both smoking and inheriting specific genes could be considered risk factors for
certain kinds of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Prevention means
avoiding the risk factors and increasing the protective factors that can be
controlled so that the chance of developing cancer decreases.
Although many risk factors can be avoided, it is important to keep in mind that
avoiding risk factors does not guarantee that you will not get cancer. Also,
most people with a particular risk factor for cancer do not actually get the
disease. Some people are more sensitive than others are to factors that can cause
cancer. Talk to your doctor about methods of preventing cancer that might be
effective for you.
Purposes of this summary
The purposes of this summary on prevention of esophageal cancer are to:
- Give information on esophageal cancer and how often it occurs.
- Describe esophageal cancer prevention methods.
- Give current facts about which people or groups of people would most likely
be helped by following esophageal cancer prevention methods.
You can talk to your doctor or health care professional about cancer prevention
methods and whether they would be likely to help you.
Back to Top Esophageal Cancer Prevention
Esophageal cancer is cancer of the esophagus, the muscular tube through which
food passes from the throat to the stomach. Most esophageal cancers are either adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Both types of cancer are found in
the tissue that lines the inside of the esophagus. Squamous cell cancers occur
in the upper part of the esophagus near the throat and adenocarcinomas occur in
the lower part of the esophagus near the stomach.
Significance of esophageal cancer
The number of new cases of squamous cell cancers of the esophagus is declining.
African American males are more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma of
the esophagus than are white males. The risk of this type of cancer increases
with age for all racial/ethnic groups.
The number of new cases of esophageal adenocarcinomas has risen over the past 2
decades. It has become more prevalent than squamous cell cancer of the
esophagus in the United States and Western Europe.
Esophageal cancer prevention
The following risk factors and preventive factors may affect whether a person develops esophageal cancer:
-
Tobacco and Alcohol
Squamous cell cancer of the esophagus is strongly associated with tobacco and alcohol use. Studies have shown that avoiding tobacco and alcohol decreases the risk of developing esophageal cancer.
-
Diet
A diet with plenty of green and yellow fruits and vegetables and cruciferous vegetables (such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower) may lower the risk of developing squamous cell cancer of the esophagus.
-
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Some studies have shown that the use of nonsteroidal anti-Inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs (such as aspirin and other drugs that reduce fever, swelling, pain, and redness) is associated with a reduced risk of developing both squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
Use of NSAIDs, however, increases the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, bleeding in the stomach and intestines, and kidney damage.
-
Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Gastric Atrophy
Infection with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria causes inflammation and ulcers in the stomach lining, which may lead to a condition called gastric atrophy (cells that line the stomach are destroyed). This condition may increase the risk of developing squamous cell cancer of the esophagus.
-
Gastric Reflux and Barrett Esophagus
Gastric reflux (the backing up of stomach contents into the lower section of the esophagus) may irritate the esophagus and, over time, cause Barrett esophagus. Barrett esophagus is a condition in which the cells lining the lower part of the esophagus have changed or been replaced with abnormal cells that could lead to adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. It is not known if surgery or other medical treatment to stop gastric reflux will reduce the risk of developing adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
Back to Top Get More Information From NCI
Call 1-800-4-CANCER
For more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Deaf and hard-of-hearing callers with TTY equipment may call 1-800-332-8615. The call is free and a trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.
Chat online
The NCI's LiveHelp® online chat service provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer.
Write to us
For more information from the NCI, please write to this address:
- NCI Public Inquiries Office
- Suite 3036A
- 6116 Executive Boulevard, MSC8322
- Bethesda, MD 20892-8322
Search the NCI Web site
The NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families. For a quick search, use our “Best Bets” search box in the upper right hand corner of each Web page. The results that are most closely related to your search term will be listed as Best Bets at the top of the list of search results.
There are also many other places to get materials and information about cancer treatment and services. Hospitals in your area may have information about local and regional agencies that have information on finances, getting to and from treatment, receiving care at home, and dealing with problems related to cancer treatment.
Find Publications
The NCI has booklets and other materials for patients, health professionals, and the public. These publications discuss types of cancer, methods of cancer treatment, coping with cancer, and clinical trials. Some publications provide information on tests for cancer, cancer causes and prevention, cancer statistics, and NCI research activities. NCI materials on these and other topics may be ordered online or printed directly from the NCI Publications Locator. These materials can also be ordered by telephone from the Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
Back to Top Changes to This Summary (07/12/2007)
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as
new information becomes available. This section describes the latest
changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
Back to Top Questions or Comments About This Summary
If you have questions or comments about this summary, please send them to Cancer.gov through the Web site’s Contact Form. We can respond only to email messages written in English.
Back to Top About PDQ
PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.
PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.
PDQ contains cancer information summaries.
The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.
Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.
PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether a certain drug or nutrient can prevent cancer. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients and those who are at risk for cancer. During prevention clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new prevention method and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new method is better than one currently being used, the new method may become "standard." People who are at high risk for a certain type of cancer may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237); TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
Back to Top |
