What causes cancer of the esophagus?
Cancer of the esophagus is fairly common in some parts of the world. But in the United States, this disease accounts for only about 1 percent of all cancers. The exact causes of cancer of the esophagus are not known. Researchers are trying to solve this problem. The more they can find out about what causes this disease, the better the chance of finding ways to prevent it. Studies in the United States show that esophageal cancer is found mainly in people over age 55. It affects men about twice as often as women, and it is more common in black people than in white people. Why one person gets esophageal cancer and another doesn’t cannot be explained. It is established that no one can “catch” esophageal cancer from another person. Cancer is not contagious. Also, it is known that certain risk factors increase a person’s chance of getting esophageal cancer. In the United States, smoking and excessive use of alcohol are the major risk factors for this disease. Heavy users of both alcohol and
