A case-control study of diet and social factors in cancer of the esophagus in transkei

✍ Scribed by Alastair M. Sammon

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 504 KB
• Volume: 69
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19920215)69:4<860::aid-cncr2820690404>3.0.co;2-y

✦ Synopsis

A study of 100 patients with cancer of the esophagus and 100 controls matched for sex, age, and educational level was done in Transkei, with extensive inquiries into diet and social habits. The significant risk factors found were use of SoZanum nigrum as a food (relative risk, 3.6), smoking (relative risk, 2.6), and use of traditional medicines (relative risk, 2.1). Consumption of traditional beer was not a risk factor. Cancer 1992; 69:860-865.

Transkei, on the Indian Ocean coast of southern Africa, has a high incidence of cancer of the esophagus (CE).',' It has been estimated that up to 20% of men before the age of 75 years would be affected by the tumor if other causes of death were e ~c l u d e d . ~ There also is a high incidence in surrounding southern Africa.' The disease in Transkei is squamous carcinoma, principally affecting the middle and lower thirds of the esophagus, and most patients with CE are diagnosed at a stage when palliative treatment only is p~ssible.~ This study is a comprehensive survey of the major components of the diet of the people of Transkei and of some social habits that may be relevant to the cause of CE. The normal diet in Transkei is based on maize, eaten as whole kernels, stamped or ground. Maize, beans, pumpkin, bread, and margarine are the main caloric providers of the diet. They are supplemented by meat, eaten occasionally but often in large quantities, garden vegetables, and wild vegetables, used for flavor but eaten by some people in large quantities.