Scientists Discover an Alarming Rise in a Certain Cancer Variant

Esophageal cancer in middle-aged adults nearly doubled from 2012 to 2019, suggesting a need for earlier screening for high-risk groups.

Esophageal cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the esophagus, which is a long, hollow tube that connects the throat to the stomach. Your esophagus helps transport food you eat to your stomach where it will be digested. Esophageal cancer typically starts in the cells that line the esophagus’s interior. However, it may occur at any point in the esophagus.

Esophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of mortality from cancer globally. The rates of the disease vary depending on where you live. Tobacco and alcohol use, as well as certain dietary practices and obesity, may be linked to greater risks of esophageal cancer.

According to a database study of around five million patients to be presented at Digestive Disease Week 2022, adults aged 45 to 64 had a nearly doubled prevalence of esophageal cancer and a 50% rise in the precancerous disease Barrett’s esophagus between 2012 and 2019.

“This strong growth in prevalence should be of concern to physicians, and we should consider screening more middle-aged patients for esophageal cancer if they are at higher risk,” said Bashar J. Qumseya, MD, MPH, FASGE, lead author of the study and associate professor of medicine and chief of endoscopy at the University of Florida, Gainesville. “Whenever we see increasing prevalence of any type of cancer, we should ask whether this is merely due to better screening or it is a true increase in the disease prevalence. In our study, it was due to the latter.”

Significant Increase in Barrett’s Esophagus and Cancer Rates

The researchers examined the rate of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) throughout this time period and found no evidence of an increase that may explain the prevalence data. An EGD is a diagnostic procedure that examines the esophagus, stomach, and first section of the small intestine (duodenum).

Esophageal cancer and Barrett’s esophagus are most common in older white men, according to the research, with those over 65 having the greatest prevalence. However, researchers discovered that the cancer incidence in the 45-to-64 age bracket about doubled, from 49 to 94 per 100,000, while the frequency of Barrett’s esophagus increased by roughly 50%, from 304 to 466 per 100,000 individuals.

Esophageal cancer, which is usually detected by endoscopy, is often a silent killer with minimal symptoms until it becomes advanced. Barrett’s esophagus – the primary precursor lesion for esophageal adenocarcinoma, which begins in the glandular cells in the lining of the esophagus – is caused mainly by chronic acid reflux. Other risk factors include advanced age, male sex, obesity, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

Risk Factors and Implications for Screening

Dr. Qumseya said that middle-aged patients with multiple risk factors would benefit from earlier and/or more frequent screening, comparing it to the benefit of earlier colorectal cancer screening. “Many patients in the U.S. now have colonoscopies starting at age 45, so conducting an endoscopy at the same time, among those with multiple risk factors, could help capture more patients with Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer,” he said.

“From other analyses we have conducted with this dataset, we know that even patients with four or more risk factors for esophageal cancer are not having endoscopies,” he added. “So, from both the patient and provider perspective, we can do better.”

The study was a cross-sectional analysis of electronic health record (EHR) data from the OneFlorida Clinical Data Research Network, which covers more than 40 percent of Florida residents.

Researchers analyzed records by three age categories, 18 to 44, 45 to 64, and over 65. Further analysis of the database is ongoing, and the final results should be ready in the next six months.

Dr. Qumseya noted several limitations of the study: it covered only adults living in Florida, so is not necessarily representative of the U.S. population. It was not a randomized controlled trial that followed one group of patients over time. In addition, as with any database, there could be problems with the data itself. The EHRs analyzed were of patients who visited hospitals or doctors’ offices, so the database does not indicate whether they already had a disease at the time of that visit or whether the condition had resolved.

In the final analyses, the research team plans to revisit the database to try to differentiate between the two types of esophageal cancer – esophageal adenocarcinoma, which usually affects the lower esophagus, and squamous cell carcinoma, which affects the upper esophagus.

Reference: “Alarming increase in prevalence of esophageal cancer and Barrett’s esophagus in middle-aged patients: findings from a statewide database of over five million patients” by Bashar J. Qumseya et al., 23 May 2022.

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