30年食道癌男性患者激增将近一半

  最近，来自英国癌症研究中心的研究人员表示，从20世纪80年代到现在，患食管癌的男性增加了将近50%，即目前新发病例已经达到了几乎6000例；30年前患食管癌的男性数量为2700例，而截至到2012年却增加到了5740例，食道癌患者增加的数量从每十万患者15例增加到了13例。
  在女性群体中食道癌发病人数相比20世纪80年代增长了将近10%，如今又2802名女性被诊断为食道癌患者。烟酒这Rebecca Fitzgerald指出，从我们所绘制的统计学表中可以看出人群中食道癌的患者发病数量在逐年增长，尤其是对于男性个体而言，因此我们应当尤其关注食道癌患者的健康以及如何有效预防食道癌的发生。
  当然好消息就是目前我们可以对食道癌进行早期诊断，研究者开发了一种新型方法就可以有效诊断患食道癌风险较高的个体，即那些巴雷斯特食道症个体，研究者让个体吞咽一种海绵来帮助其检测食道癌的发生。如果研究者可以有效筛选出巴雷斯特食道症的个体，那么或许就可以有效阻断患者发展为癌症。
  Tony说道，由于医生们通常会在患者处于疾病早期发现癌症，因此他们完全可以从患者的食道切除肿瘤，从而有效降低癌症的发病率以及致死率。最新的研究数据显示，食道癌是英国第六大常见的癌症死亡原因，2012年大约有5200名男性死于该疾病，而食道癌的症状包括长期消化不良、胃灼热、难以吞咽、食物回流以及不明原因的消瘦，这些症状看起来并不像癌症。
  最后研究者Claire Knight说道，目前我们非常担心看到患食道癌男性患者的数量发生增加，但目前有很多人都有机会切除食道中的肿瘤而避免食道癌的发生；我们知道几乎90%的食道癌都可以预防，因此通过戒烟、戒酒、平衡饮食以及维持健康的体重或许就可以帮助降低个体患食道癌的风险。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）
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Men are 50 per cent more likely to get esophageal cancer than 30 years ago

The latest figures show the number of men diagnosed with esophageal cancer has rapidly risen from around 2,700 cases three decades ago to 5,740 cases in 2012.

Given the changes in population size this equates to a 50 per cent increase from 15 to 23 cases per 100,000 people.

In women, the increase is much smaller with around 10 per cent more now developing the disease compared to the 80s. Now 2,802 women are diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, Cancer Research UK esophageal cancer expert at the University of Cambridge, said: "These new statistics show a continuing rise in esophageal cancer rates -- especially in men. This is especially concerning as esophageal cancer can be notoriously hard to treat.

"The good news is we're making great strides in the early detection of the disease. We're developing a simple way to diagnose a group of people at high risk -- those with Barrett's esophagus -- by asking them to swallow a sponge to test for the disease. If we can pick up Barrett's esophagus in more people, it could mean we can stop the disease becoming cancer. Catching it early is absolutely critical to survival."

To address the rising numbers of cases and boost research, Cancer Research UK is holding an International Symposium on Esophageal Cancer at the University of Oxford this weekend (June 6-7).
Tony Richards, 67, a retired chartered accountant from Cambridgeshire, was initially diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus in 2009. Later, in July 2011, he was diagnosed with early stage esophageal cancer. Tony took part in the cytosponge BEST-2 trial run by Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Tony said: "Because the doctor found the cancer at an early stage, I was able to have an operation to cut out the cancer from my esophagus, rather than undergo more invasive surgery. I was delighted to take part in the cytosponge trial as I feel it's my way of giving something back. I hope it's going to be a great way of helping reduce the toll from this disease in future -- as I'm very fortunate that my cancer was caught so early and removed."

The latest figures also show that esophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in the UK -- around 5,200 men died from the disease in 2012. Symptoms of esophageal cancer include persistent indigestion or heartburn, difficulty swallowing, food coming back up, and unexplained weight loss. It's most likely not cancer, but it's best to get these symptoms checked by a GP.......