Risk Factors of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma at Karachi, Pakistan

Background: The esophagus is exposed to various factors being on the beginning of the gastrointestinal tract. Pathologies of esophagus vary from epithelial erosions to deep muscular involvement and from mild inflammation to cancers. Objective: To determine the risk factors like gender, smoking and gastro esophageal reflux disease for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Methodology: This comparative cross sectional study was carried out at Pathology department of Al-Tibri Medical College and Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, fromApril  to September, 2018. After ERC approval 88 human subjects were selected through non-probability sampling using inclusion and exclusion criteria 22 subjects as controls (group-I) and 22 individuals withBarrett’s esophagus (Group-II), 22 patients with dysplasia(Group-III) and 22 known patients of esophageal adenocarcinoma (Group-IV). Risk factors like age, gender involvement, smoking and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were evaluated among these groups in terms of frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results: Overall males were 70 (79.55%) and females were 18(21.45%), similar fractions were observed as smokers and non-smokers and GERD but age ranged different in different study groups and 40 (45.54%) belonged to age range of 51-60 years. Mean age was 43±6, 56±2, 61±4 and 63±3 years, for groups I, II, III and IV respectively (p=0.00). Sex (p=0.1) and smoking (p=0.3) were not significantly associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma whereas, age (p=0.00) and GERD status (p=0.00) were significantly associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma in this study. Conclusion: We found that age, gastroesophageal reflux disease were significantly associated with development of adenocarcinoma of esophagus in our study.