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Updated: May 5, 2026

Development of Compendium for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 12, 2024
The changing face of esophageal cancer
Rachel E Melhado1, Derek Alderson, Olga Tucker
1Academic Department of Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. rachel.melhado@uhb.nhs.uk.
Abstract:
The two main histological esophageal cancer types, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, differ in incidence, geographic distribution, ethnic pattern and etiology. This article focuses on epidemiology with particular reference to geographic and temporal variations in incidence, along with a review of the evidence supporting environmental and genetic factors involved in esophageal carcinogenesis. Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus remains predominantly a disease of the developing world. In contrast, esophageal adenocarcinoma is mainly a disease of western developed societies, associated with obesity and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of adenocarcinoma in developed countries in parallel with migration of both esophageal and gastric adenocarcinomas towards the gastro-esophageal junction.
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