Annually Incidence of Esophagus Cancer in the Hakkari City of Eastern Anatolia

Abstract

AIM: Esophageal cancer is one of the common causes of morbidity and mortality in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Yet no data exists in the literature about the annual incidence of esophagus carcinoma from this region of Turkey. METHODS: Since September 2011 through August 2012, all endoscopy and pathology records have been retroactively researched. All newly-diagnosed esophagus cancer patients were recorded and patient demographic data were entered spss 16.0. Mean ages of all cases were calculated. The authors calculated crude age-specific and age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIR, world standard population). We used 2011 midyear population estimates supplied by Provincial Health Directorates as denominators. RESULTS: The annual incidence of cancer in the region was estimated to be 8/100000 (male: 8.8/100000, female: 7.2/100000). The rate of occurence was one esophageal cancer for every 69 endoscopy interventions. This is quite a high rate. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the identified incidence rate is remarkably high. However, our result may be considered as a low incidence value because patients who visited other cities through a violation of the referral chain would result in an increase in these figures. In conclusion, 8/100000 may be accepted as the lowest incidence rate for this region. Considering the area’s relatively low socioeconomic status, high consumption of nitrite- and nitrate-containing food, and preference for drinking extremely hot beverages all potential etiology factors, further studies should be performed to better elucidate the precise etiologic risk factors.