What You Need to Know about Preventing...
Esophageal Cancer
What’s the Evidence?
According to AICR experts, diets high in a variety of fruits and non-starchy vegetables probably reduce risk of esophageal cancer. This is one of the reasons AICR recommends eating at least five portions a day of a variety of vegetables and fruits.
Evidence that alcoholic drinks increase your risk is convincing, and this is one of the reasons AICR recommends limiting alcoholic drinks to two a day for a man and one for a woman.
Overweight and obesity can lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), in which stomach acids irritate the esophagus; this inflammation makes cancer more likely. The AICR experts concluded that carrying excess body fat is a convincing cause of cancer of the esophagus, which is one of the reasons AICR recommends being as lean as possible within the healthy weight range.
How Preventable is Esophageal Cancer?
Esophageal is second only to lung cancer in preventability. AICR experts estimate that staying slim, eating healthy and limiting alcohol could prevent a staggering 7 out of every 10 cases of esophageal cancer in the US every year.
That's over 11,000 cases this year.
What the Panel’s Judgments Mean
Convincing
strong, consistent and unlikely to change in the future
Probable
compelling but not quite strong or consistent enough to be "convincing"
Limited Evidence – Suggestive
too limited for a grade of "probable", but a general consistency in the data
Limited Evidence – No Conclusion
too inconsistent or insufficient for a definitive grade
Substantial Effect on Risk Unlikely
enough evidence to rule out a connection
