Oesophageal cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up

Abstract

The crude incidence of oesophageal cancer in the European Union (EU) is about 4.5 cases/100 000/year (43 700 cases) with considerable geographical differences within the EU ranging from 3/100 000 in Greece up to 10/100 000 in France [1]. The age adjusted mortality is about 5.4/100 000/year (20 750 deaths) in men and 1.1/100 000/year (6 950 deaths) in women, respectively. The main risk factors for squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in Western countries are smoking and alcohol consumption, whereas adenocarcinomas (ACs) predominantly occur in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and their risk is correlated with the patient's body-mass index. While the incidence of SCC remains stable, the incidence of AC, particularly in the lower oesophagus, is rapidly rising in Western countries [2] and it now constitutes more than half of all oesophageal cancer cases.