How Diet Affects the Risk of Esophageal Cancer?

Credits: Penn Medicine

Researchers state that generally, twenty percent of all cancers in the United States are due to physical inactivity, poor nutrition, excessive consumption of alcohol, and excess weight.

The eighth most common cancer around the globe is esophageal cancer (EC). There are two common subtypes of esophageal cancer (EC) that are adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Some risk factors are associated with esophageal cancer (EC), including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), smoking, Barrett’s esophagus, and alcohol consumption.

A 2013-2017 data shows that the rate of new esophageal cancer cases was 4.3 per 0.1 million men and women per year while the death rate was 3.9 per 0.1 million men and women per year. And in 2017, more than forty thousand people were living with esophageal cancer in the United States.

A Mediterranean diet and normally healthy eating except some specific foods or nutrients decrease the risk of esophageal cancers especially esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

A 2013 study shows that although diet has been related to diseases of the stomach and esophagus hardly few investigations have addressed the association of diet with these diseases. Too much intake of alcohol increases the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) but not of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) or gastric cancer.

The fruits and vegetable consumption is inversely correlated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), however, the evidence is weak for gastric cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Salt and salted foods are recorded as gastric cancer-causing agents, yet there is little convincing proof regarding a role for other dietary items.

National Cancer Institute reports that a healthy diet and regular exercise might help to prevent some types of cancer. If a person avoids risk factors of the disease and increases protective factors then the chances to develop the disease are less while it doesn’t mean, he won’t get the disease.

Shailja Shah and her colleagues conducted a review examination of the National Institutes of Health AARP Diet and Health Study cohort to estimate the association between dietary magnesium and calcium and the occurrence of esophageal cancer.

The most risk factor for esophageal cancer is smoking. Smokers are more likely to get esophageal cancer than those who don’t smoke. The risk of esophageal cancer is much lower in children and young adults because the risk of developing cancer increases with age. Several risk factors for squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are similar. Adenocarcinoma may also cause acid reflux, Barrett esophagus, or obesity.

Researchers reported in the British Journal of Cancer that more than a thousand individuals had esophageal cancer among more than 0.5 million respondents.

They found that the risk of squamous cell carcinoma decreases with increased calcium intake while the risk of adenocarcinoma increases with increased magnesium intake.

Whenever confirmed especially through interventional modifications, these findings could illuminate dietary modifications that may help to prevent deadly cancers all around.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that every year about fifteen thousand people in the united states are diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Research is needed to more readily comprehend the link between esophageal cancer and the environment, which may help to find other potential risk factors for this disease.

CDC finds that the risk of developing esophageal cancer can be reduced by keeping away from or changing behaviors that are known risk factors for the disease. Esophageal cancers can be prevented by limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining healthy body weight, and quitting smoke.

Fariha Munir

Fariha is a Microbiology graduate and working as a freelance content writer. Her major areas of interest are nutrition, diseases, research, and medical diagnostic technologies.