Upper gastrointestinal cancer burden in Hebei Province, China: A population-based study

AIM To investigate the incidence and mortality rates of upper gastrointestinal cancer(UGIC) in Hebei Province, China, and to identify high-risk populations to improve UGIC prevention and control.METHODS Data for UGIC patients were collected from 21 population-based cancer registries covering 15.25% of the population in Hebei Province. Mortality data were extracted from three national retrospective death surveys(1973-1975, 1990-1992 and 2004-2005). The data were stratified by 5-year age groups, gender and area(high-risk/non-high-risk areas) for analysis. The age-period-cohort and grey system model were used.RESULTS The crude incidence rate of UGIC was 55.47/100000, and the adjusted rate(Segi's population) was 44.90/100000. Males in rural areas had the highest incidence rate(world age-standardized rate = 87.89/100000). The crude mortality rate of UGIC displayed a decreasing trend in Hebei Province from the 1970 s to 2013, and the adjusted rate decreased by 43.81% from the 1970s(58.07/100000) to 2013(32.63/100000). The mortality rate declined more significantly in the high-risk areas(57.26%) than in the non-high-risk areas(55.02%) from the 1970 s to 2013. The median age at diagnosis of UGIC was 65.06 years in 2013. There was a notable delay in the median age at death from the 1970s(66.15 years) to 2013(70.39 years), especially in the high-risk areas. In Cixian, the total trend of the cohort effect declined, and people aged 65-69 years were a population at relatively high risk for UGIC. We predicted that the crude mortality rates of UGIC in Cixian and Shexian would decrease to 98.80 and 133.99 per 100000 in 2018, respectively.CONCLUSION UGIC was the major cause of cancer death in Hebei Province, and males in rural areas were a high-risk population. We should strengthen early detection and treatment of UGIC in this population.

Earlier onset and multiple primaries in familial as opposed to sporadic esophageal cancer

AIM: To study the differences in onset age and multiple primary cancers between familial and sporadic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC).METHODS: The differences in onset age and multiple primary cancers were analyzed between ESCC patients with(n = 766) and without(n = 1776) a family history of the cancer. The cases analyzed constituted all consecutive patients who had undergone cure-intent surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the 4th Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 1 1975 to December 31 1989. Because we also originally aimed to examine the difference in survival time, only older subjects with a long follow-up period were selected.RESULTS: Overall, patients with ESCC and a positive family history of the cancer had a significantly younger age at onset and more multiple primary cancers than those without a positive family history(51.83 ± 8.39 vs 53.49 ± 8.23 years old, P = 0.000; 5.50% vs 1.70%, P = 0.000). Both of these differences were evident in subgroup analyses, however, no correlations were observed. While age at onset differed significantly by family history in males, smokers, and drinkers, the difference in multiple primary cancers by family history was significant in nonsmoking, nondrinking, and younger onset patients. In multivariate analysis, age over 50 years, tobacco smoking, and multiple primary cancers were found to be significant predictors of familial cancer: the corresponding OR(95%CI) and P-value were 0.974(0.963-0.985) and 0.000; 1.271(1.053-1.535) and 0.012; and 4.265(2.535-7.176) and 0.000, respectively.CONCLUSION: Patients with ESCC and a positive family history of the cancer had a significantly younger onset age and more multiple primary cancers than those without a positive family history. Sub-group analyses indicated that younger onset age may be due to the interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental hazards, and multiple primary cancers may only be due to genetic predisposition.