Esophageal and Gastric Cardia Cancers on 4238 Chinese Patients Residing in Municipal and Rural Regions: A Histopathological Comparison During 24‐Year Period

Abstract

This study demonstrated that the common ESCC sites were different in municipal (chiefly in lower third of the esophagus) and in rural (chiefly in middle third of the esophagus) regions. The peak age of ESCC, EAC, and GCA patients in rural region was 10 years younger than in municipal region. Eighty-six percent of ESCC and 90% of GCA in municipal region were diagnosed at middle and advanced stage; similarly, more than 95% of ESCC and GCA in rural region were diagnosed at middle and advanced stage during the 24-year study period. An increasing tendency in number of yearly diagnosed new patients with ESCC and GCA was observed in municipal region, but not in rural region. However, an increasing tendency for EAC was observed both in municipal and rural regions during the past 24-year period. The present results demonstrate the difference in municipal and rural regions of ESCC, ECA, and GCA in histopathological types, and suggest that there may be different etiological factors involved in esophageal and gastric cardia carcinogenesis in these different areas.