Introduction: Esophageal cancer is one of the most common cancer in north eastern region of India. This study was done to evaluate prevalence, demographic features and patient characteristics of esophageal cancer in our clinical settings at NEIGRIHMS, Shillong, Meghalaya.
Methods: A retrospective analysis medical records of 155 patients of the Esophageal Cancer registered in the Department of Oncology, Neigrihms from January 2013 to December 2015 was conducted. The site of the disease, the histological pattern and staging were recorded in addition to the various demographic parameters of the patient.
Results: Esophageal cancer is the most common cancer among the cancer patients registered in our Department. Male: Female ratio was 4.34:1 and the mean age of them was 50.49 years. The majority were from Christian ethinic group (72.9%). Tobacco consumption (73.5%) in the form of paan and smoking was the common identifiable risk factor. Dysphagia (90%) was the the most frequently presented symptoms at the time of presentation. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathology (91.6%) and followed by adenocarcinoma 8.4%. Middle third (67.7%) was the most common site of disease. At the time diagnosis, 29% patients were in stage I and II, 43.5% in stage III and 20.6% in stage IV disease. In 6.7% patients proper staging could not be documented.
Conclusion: Esophageal cancer is an aggressive disease with a generally poor prognosis and most of the malignancies are diagnosed in the advanced stage of the disease. Higher incidence of esophageal cancer in this region needs further demographical and risk factor evaluation. Education of general population about the potential risk factors of using tobacco in the form of smoking, paan, beetle nut, and intake of alcohol can be suggested.
