The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for esophageal cancer in the United States are for 2009:

• 16,470 new esophageal cancer cases will be diagnosed
• 14,530 deaths

This disease is 3 to 4 times more common among men than among women and is now as common in African Americans as it is in whites. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of cancer of the esophagus among African Americans, while adenocarcinoma is more common in whites. For all groups combined, the lifetime risk of esophageal cancer in the United States is 1 in 200. Cancer of the esophagus is much more common in some other countries. For example, esophageal cancer rates in Iran, northern China, India, and southern Africa are 10 to 100 times higher than in the United States. The main type in these countries is squamous cell carcinoma.

In Western countries, the rate of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus in white men has been increasing at about 1% a year. The esophageal cancer rate has been unchanged in white women. The rate of esophageal cancer has been dropping in African American men and women by 4 to 5% per year.

Although many people with esophageal cancer will go on to die from this disease, treatment has improved and survival rates are getting better. During the early 1960s, only 4% of all white patients and 1% of all African-American patients survived at least 5 years after diagnosis. Now, 18% of white patients and 11% of African-American patients survive at least 5 years after diagnosis. These figures take into account all patients with esophageal cancer, no matter what stage they were in at diagnosis. Survival rates for early stage disease are higher.

These survival rates are 5-year relative survival rates. A 5-year survival rate refers to the percent of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. People may live longer than 5 years, but 5-year rates are used to produce a standard way to discuss outlook for survival. This number includes people who die of other causes. A relative survival rate compares the observed survival with what would be expected for people without the cancer. This helps to correct for the deaths caused by something besides cancer and is a better way to see the effect that the cancer has on survival. This is a more accurate way to describe the outlook for patients with a particular type and stage of cancer.

Last Medical Review: 05/04/2009
Last Revised: 05/13/2009