Characteristics of Esophageal Cancer Among Malawi Natives at a Rural Hospital

Esophageal cancer (EC) is more prevalent in Malawi as compared to other African countries. Environmental and socioeconomic factors may play a role in the increased incidence of EC in eastern Africa. However, the risk factors are not well defined.

We sought to determine the characteristics of patients diagnosed with EC in our rural community.

We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with EC. Age, gender, presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), HIV status, and tumor histology type were recorded.

Our study demonstrated that the majority of patients did not use alcohol or tobacco (n = 106 (69.28%) and n = 107 (70.39%), respectively). There was an almost equal distribution of males and females, and the major histologic cell type was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). There were 149 (82.63%) patients with a history of GERD, and 103 (63.98%) patients had a positive history of HIV.

SCC was the most common histological subtype in our study. Our study demonstrated that alcohol and tobacco use did not impact the type of tissue histology in EC, and the majority of patients had a history of GERD. Further research is needed to further delineate the characteristics of EC in Malawi to determine areas of focus in prevention and treatment.