Cancers on the Rise

As we have shared with you in the past, the incidence rates of many cancers have been on the decline in recent years. This is the result of many behavioral and environmental changes that individuals have been making, and policies that our government has instituted that have cleaned up the air we breathe and the land we live on. However, there are still some cancers that are on the rise, and in an effort to keep you well-informed, we want to share some information about them with you. All of the following information is available from the American Cancer Society via their Cancer Facts & Figures 2012 publication.

Kidney and Renal Cancer       

Between 1999-2008, kidney cancer rates significantly increased for men and women of every race/ethnicity except American Indian or Alaska Native men, for every age group, and most dramatically for localized tumors from 7.6 (per 100,000) in 1999 to 12.2 in 2008. Research suggested that the trend may be due to an increase in imaging procedures such as ultrasound, computed tomography and MRI, which detect early stage cancers that may have been undiagnosed in previous study periods.

Rates during 2004-2008 were 2 times higher for men than women, and highest for African American and American Indian and Alaska Native men, perhaps reflecting the higher rates of obesity in these groups of individuals.

Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for both kidney and renal cancers, but is most strongly associated with renal pelvis cancer. Risk of kidney cancer increases with both quantity and duration of smoking, and accounts for approximately 20-30% of cases among men and approximately 10-20% of cases among women. For cancer of the renal pelvis, smoking accounts for approximately 70-82% of cases among men and approximately 37-61% of cases among women.

Obesity increases risk of kidney cancer, and accounts for 30-40% of cases. High blood pressure is also shown as a risk of kidney cancer, and there are inherited forms of the disease that account for a small fraction of cases.

Prevention techniques include stopping the use of tobacco products, maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding high blood pressure (through diet and exercise) and treating existing high blood pressure.

For more information about kidney and renal cancer, including symptoms and treatment information, visit the Mayo Clinic page.

Esophageal Adenocarcinoma       

Overall, the incidence rates of esophageal adenocarcinoma have shown declines, but while African American males have traditionally been more likely to be diagnosed with this type of cancer, there has been an increase in non-Hispanic white men to be diagnosed in recent years. Although the two most common types of esophageal cancer are related to smoking, only one of them (squamous cell carcinoma) has shown a decline that corresponds with decreased smoking rates. So, what's going on with the other one - adenocarcinoma?

Obesity is associated with a 16-fold increased risk of this type of cancer. Obesity is also associated with gastroesophageal reflux and Barrett's esophagus, which can progress to esophageal adenocarcinoma. Rates for this kind of cancer increased significantly among white men (1.8% per year), white women (2.1% per year), and Hispanic men (2.8% per year) during 1999-2008. These increasing trends coincide with rises in obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Maintaining healthy body weight may reduce the risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease with proton-pump inhibitors, which reduces gastric acid, thereby slowing or preventing the development of Barrett's esophagus, may also lower risk, although the most effective regimen to reduce cancer risk in these patients is not known. Medical surveillance for people diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus may also be beneficial; however, the timing and frequency of such screening is unclear.

More information on esophageal cancers can be found on the Mayo Clinic website.

Small, but Growing.

In 2010, an estimated 16,640 adults in the United States were expected to be diagnosed with esophageal cancer. A huge portion of that projected number (13,130 to be exact) was attributed to males. This makes esophageal cancer the 7th most common cause of cancer deaths among men in the U.S.

While those kinds of numbers don't qualify it for a "common" status in our country, esophageal cancer has become the fastest-increasing cancer diagnosis in the U.S., up more than 400 percent in the past two decades, according to the Esophageal Cancer Action Network.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS of esophageal cancer include:

• Difficulty swallowing
• Losing weight without trying
• Chest pain
• Fatigue

Early esophageal cancer typically causes no signs or symptoms. If you've been diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that increases your risk of esophageal cancer, ask your doctor what signs and symptoms to watch for that may signal that your condition is worsening. Also ask what screening tests you should consider.

There are two main types of esophageal cancer:

• Adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma begins in the cells of mucus-secreting glands in the esophagus. Adenocarcinoma occurs most often in the lower portion of the esophagus. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of esophageal cancer in the United States.
• Squamous cell carcinoma. The squamous cells are flat, thin cells that line the surface of the esophagus. Squamous cell carcinoma occurs most often in the middle of the esophagus. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most prevalent esophageal cancer worldwide.

RISK FACTORS: It's thought that chronic irritation of your esophagus may contribute to the DNA changes that cause esophageal cancer. Factors that cause irritation in the cells of your esophagus and increase your risk of esophageal cancer include:

• Alcohol
• Bile reflux
• Chewing tobacco
• Difficulty swallowing caused by an esophageal sphincter that won't relax (achalasia)
• Drinking very hot liquids
• Eating a diet low in fruits and vegetables
• Eating foods preserved in lye
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Obesity
• Precancerous changes in the cells of the esophagus (Barrett's esophagus)
• Radiation treatment to the chest or upper abdomen
• Smoking

As with any type of cancer - know your risks, know the symptoms, and talk to your physician if you are concerned.

Information for this post was gathered from the following websites:

Mayo Clinic
The Baltimore Sun
Esophageal Cancer Action Network