Prevalence of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background: There has been a marked increase of the prevalence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus across the globe, with the risk factors including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett’s esophagus. It is not known whether the trend is similar locally. Objective: To describe the prevalence and clinicopathological characteristics of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study of patients presenting with dysphagia at the surgical outpatient unit and the Endoscopy Unit by consecutive sampling. The patients’ demographic and clinical data were obtained using a structured questionnaire. The findings at endoscopy including site of tumor and histopathological findings were recorded. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. The histological subtypes were presented as a proportion. Results: A total of 74 patients were recruited. The mean age at diagnosis of esophageal cancer was 57.7 years. The mean duration of symptomatology was 4.5 months, with 66.2% of the patients presenting with wasting at diagnosis. The prevalence of adenocarcinoma amongst esophageal tumors was 18.9%. Conclusion: There is increasing occurrence of adenocarcinoma, demonstrating a higher rate than a decade earlier. Further studies are needed to elucidate the risk factors locally.

Key words: Prevalence, clinicopathological features, adenocarcinoma, Esophagus