Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Epidemiological changes in oesophageal cancer at National Hospital, Bloemfontein: 1995, 2000 and 2005
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the profile of oesophageal cancer by reviewing medical records of patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 1995, 2000 and 2005.
Method: The study sample consisted of 474 files of patients diagnosed, for the first time, with oesophageal cancer in 1995, 2000 and 2005, at the National Hospital in Bloemfontein and the outreach clinics in surrounding areas. Information reviewed from patient files included: age, race and gender of the patient, as well as topography, size, histological grade and type of the tumour.
Results: The number of newly diagnosed cases of oesophageal carcinoma decreased over the 10-year period. The mean age of patients was > 57 years. The majority of cases were Black patients: 90.5% in 1995, 93.2% in 2000 and 87.7% in 2005. More male patients were seen (71.5% in 1995, 70.1% in 2000 and 64.2% in 2005), although the number of female patients diagnosed with this malignancy increased by 7.3% from 1995 to 2005. The mid- and lower third of the oesophagus were affected most commonly, most lesions were 6 cm – 10 cm in length and classified as Grade II, moderately differentiated tumours. Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in 76.9% of patients in 1995, 90.5% in 2000 and 94.3% in 2005.
Conclusion: The number of newly diagnosed cases of oesophageal carcinoma decreased over the 10-year period, but demographic and disease characteristics remained constant.
How to cite this article: Van der Merwe T, Van der Walt R, Esterhuizen J, Botha S, Goedhals L, Joubert G. Epidemiological changes in oesophageal cancer at National Hospital, Bloemfontein: 1995, 2000 and 2005. Afr J Prm Health Care Fam Med. 2010;2(1), Art. #100, 5 pages. DOI: 10.4102/phcfm.v2i1.100
References
Lord RV, Law MG, Ward RL, Giles GG, Thomas RJ, Thursfield V. Rising incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in men in Australia. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1998;13(4):356–362.
Huang GJ. Natural progression of esophageal carcinoma. In: Delarue NC, Wilkins EW Jr, Wong J, editors. Esophageal Cancer: International Trends in General Thoracic Surgery. Volume 4. St. Louis: CV Mosby Company; 1988; p. 87–89.
Huang GJ. Recognition and treatment of the early lesion. In: Delarue NC, Wilkins EW Jr, Wong J, editors. Esophageal Cancer: International Trends in General Thoracic Surgery. Volume 4. St. Louis: CV Mosby Company; 1988; p. 149–154.
Segal I, Reinach SG, De Beer M. Factors associated with oesophageal cancer in Soweto, South Africa. Br J Cancer. 1988;58(5):681–686.
Day NE. The geographic pathology of cancer of the oesophagus. Br Med Bull. 1984;40(4):329–334.
Enzinger PC, Mayer RJ. Esophageal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2003;349(23):2241–2252.
Lagergren L. Adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus: What exactly is the size of the problem and who is at risk? Gut. 2005;54(suppl)):i1–5.
Gonzales CA, Jakszyn P, Pera G, et al. Meat intake and risk of stomach and esophageal adenocarcinoma within the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006;98(5):345–354.
Lagergren J, Ye W, Lindgren A, Nyrén O. Heredity and risk of cancer of the esophagus and gastric cardia. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2000;9(7):757–760.
SAS Institute Inc. SAS Version 9.1 [CD-ROM]. Cary: SAS Institute Inc; 2002–2003.
Oken MM, Creech RH, Tormey DC, et al. Toxicity and response criteria of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Am J Clin Oncol. 1982;5(6):649–665.
Wijnhoven BP, Tran KT, Esterman A, Watson DI, Tilanus HW. An evaluation of prognostic factors and tumour staging of resected carcinoma of the esophagus. Ann Surg. 2007;245(5):717–725.
Nagel G, Linseisen J, Boshuizen HC, et al. Socioeconomic position and the risk of gastric and oesophageal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST). Int J Epidemiol. 2007;36(1):66–76.
South African Medical Research Council. What is the impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa? [homepage on the Internet]. C2007 [updated 2007 Feb 10; cited 2008 Nov 11]. Available from: http://www.mrc.ac.za/bod/faqaids.htm
Statistics South Africa. Mid-year population estimates 2009 [document on the Internet]. c2009 [cited 2009 Oct 16]. STASSA publication P0302. Available from: http://www.statssa.gov.za/publication/P0302/P03022009.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Smoking and tobacco use. Women and smoking. 2001 Surgeon General’s Report [document on the Internet]. c2001 [cited 2009 Oct 16]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2001/
Crome IB, Kumar MT. Epidemiology of drug and alcohol use in young women. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2007;12:98–105.
Cherian JV, Sivaraman R, Muthusamy AK, Jayanthi V. Carcinoma of the esophagus in Tamil Nadu (South India): 16-year trends from a tertiary center. J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 2007;16(3):245–249.
Devesa SS, Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF Jr. Changing patterns in the incidence of esophageal and gastric carcinoma in the United States. Cancer. 1998;83(10):2049–2053.
Brown LM, Devesa SS. Epidemiologic trends in esophageal and gastric cancer in the United States. Surg Oncol Clin N Am. 2002;11(2):235–256.
El-Serag HB, Mason AC, Petersen N, Key CR. Epidemiological differences between adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus and adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia in the USA. Gut. 2002;50(3):368–372.
Wei JT, Shaheen N. The changing epidemiology of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Semin Gastrointest Dis. 2003;14(3):112–127.
Full Text: PDF (252 KB) HTML XML
