HOW COMMON IS ESOPHAGEAL CANCER?
• Esophageal cancer constitutes 1.5% of all malignancies and 10% to 15% of all gastrointestinal malignancies. • Esophageal cancer is more common in eastern countries than western countries. Esophageal cancer is the first or second most common cancer in China. • 90% of esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma, but during the past decades, the incidence of adenocarcinomas has increased dramatically, for example, in United States, it accounts for about 50% of new cases, a rate of acceleration greater than that of any other cancer. Esophageal cancer is not nearly as common as cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, or colon in the U.S. and it is estimated that an annual incidence of esophageal cancer of between 12,000 and 18,000 new cases.
