Just a few, modifiable, risk factors account for most cases of stomach and esophageal cancer, according to a study.

There has been an increase in the number of cases of stomach and esophageal cancer in the West in recent years. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the US want to find out why.

They examined the cases of 1143 people with either stomach or esophageal cancer and compared them to 695 healthy controls. The study showed that just a few main risk factors cropped up for both the two main types of stomach cancer and the two main types of esophageal cancer. Being overweight, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption and having a diet low in fruits and vegetables were the main factors involved. These are all factors that can be modified - so the risk of stomach and esophageal cancer can be reduced.

Source

Journal of the National Cancer Institute 17th September 2003