ABSTRACT
Esophagus cancer [EC] accounts for a considerable proportion of carcinomas of the upper gastrointestinal tract in the Caspian Littoral. The global histologic pattern of the disease has changed recently. The intent of this study was to determine the incidence of EC over the past decade in Eastern Azerbaijan, a northwestern province of Iran, in western side of the Caspian Littoral and to assess the alteration of the histological pattern of the disease. In a retrospective study, all of 1792 pathologically documented EC of all registered cancer, surgery, pathology, and radiotherapy centers of the province over a period of 9 years [from March 1994 to March 2003] were enrolled in the study. The data concerning demographic characteristics, EC risk factors, and histological findings were recorded. The incidence and relative incidence of pathological subtypes in indigenous population of the province [excluding immigrants] were determined. The interaction of main risk factor and tumor histology of the patients were assessed over the years of study. The average incidence of EC was 7 cases per 100,000 persons per year. Adenocarcinoma and SCC account for 12.8% and 86.9% of cases. The proportions of different genders and histological types remained unchanged during these years. The frequency of nonsmoker patients has increased compared to smokers over the years. In nonsmoker subgroup of patients the relative incidence of adenocarcinoma as compared with that of squamouscell carcinoma has increased over the last 5 years of study. Esophageal cancer incidence rate in western side of Caspian littoral is as high as its western side. The frequency of nonsmoker patients has increased compared to smoker patients and the proportion of adenocarcinoma cases is increasing in this subgroup