Epidemiology of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a leading cause of death worldwide, particularly prevalent in Southern and Eastern Africa, and central Asia. Initial studies identified various factors associated with an increased risk of ESCC, leading to subsequent research investigating the underlying biological mechanisms. This narrative review aims to summarize the role of risk factors in ESCC development and propose future research directions. A systematic literature search was conducted using EMBASE, MEDLINE/PubMed, and CENTRAL databases to identify relevant publications. Included studies updated the epidemiology of ESCC, including the incidence, prevalence and mortality and its variations globally. We reported on socio-demographic impact on these geographic variations. We, then, focused on identifying risk factors associated with ESCC. The identified risk factors were categorized into 5 subcategories: smoking, alcohol, dietary factors, environmental factors and infection. Each subcategory’s risk factors were summarized and explored, providing geographical links for these associations. The review emphasizes the current understanding of several risk factors for ESCC, and specifically makes geographical links, and potential explanations for their associations were explored. However, further research is essential to validate these findings and gain insights into their impact on tumor biology.