On December 12 this year, the famous actor Tu Men, known as the "Genghis Khan Professional Household", died of esophageal cancer at the age of 61.
In fact, many actors in the entertainment industry have left us because of esophageal cancer!
On November 10, 2012, Zhang Song, a master of the domestic broadcasting industry, died of advanced esophageal cancer due to ineffective treatment at the age of 76.
On November 20, 2014, "Hong Kong movie mogul" Xiang Huasheng died of esophageal cancer at the age of 64.
According to the latest report released by the World Health Organization, in 2020, China will add 320,000 new cases of esophageal cancer and 300,000 deaths, accounting for more than half of the global incidence. About 70% of Chinese esophageal cancer patients choose to seek medical treatment when they are in the middle and advanced stages, missing the best time for treatment, and the survival period is usually less than 1 year.
In April 2020, The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology published a study that included the latest data from global esophageal cancers from 1990–2017. The data shows that in 2017, there were 473,000 new cases of esophageal cancer and 436,000 deaths of esophageal cancer. At the same time, China has a large number of new cases and deaths, reaching 235,000 and 213,000 respectively.
There are many factors in the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer, from the surface, patients generally eat faster, have the habit of eating hot, like to eat pickled foods, spicy foods and drinking and other external factors; explore the inside, in addition to genetic factors, oral virus infection, low immunity are easy to cause esophageal cancer.
The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology mentions that there are five main reasons for life expectancy and health due to esophageal cancer worldwide: smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index (BMI), low dietary fruit intake, and chewing tobacco.
In China, in addition to common factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and insufficient fruit intake, the causes of esophageal cancer include some unhealthy eating habits, such as eating too hot, too spicy, too rough and like to eat pickled foods.
"Hot food" has always been the main dietary feature of Chinese. But a 2016 experimental report published in The Lancet Oncology suggested that drinking hot drinks above 65°C increased the risk of esophageal cancer.
"Spicy food" is a dietary taste sought after by many people, and even puts "no spicy and no joy" on the lips. But food that is too spicy can lead to damage to the epithelium of the esophagus, creating inflammation of the mucous membranes, and eventually cancerous.
Foods that are too hard or difficult to chew can also damage the mucous membranes of the esophagus when passing through the esophagus. In the long run, the esophagus will be repeatedly damaged and repaired, and eventually it will cause precancerous lesions of the esophagus and cause esophageal cancer.
Pickled foods contain a lot of nitrates and nitrites, which are also a major cause of esophageal cancer. In 2012, the Chinese Journal of Cancer Prevention and Control mentioned that the amount of sauerkraut consumed was positively correlated with the incidence of esophageal cancer. Common pickled foods include sausages, salted fish, squeezed vegetables, pickled cabbage and so on.
Early symptoms of esophageal cancer are not obvious. Common symptoms include a brief poststernal burning sensation, tingling sensation, or choking sensation when swallowing hard objects. In the middle and late stages, obvious symptoms of dysphagia will appear. At the same time, with the severity of the disease, patients will have a decrease in appetite, gradual emaciation of the body, worse and worse mental state, chest and back pain, hoarseness and other situations.
Therefore, if you want to detect esophageal cancer as soon as possible, it is not complete to rely on superficial symptoms alone, and in order to prevent and detect it in advance, early screening is very necessary. According to the 2021 edition of the Shanghai Municipal "Recommendations for Screening and Prevention of Common Malignant Tumors in Residents", people older than 40 years old, who meet any of the following 7 categories, are high-risk groups of esophageal cancer:
7 types of esophageal cancer at high risk
For the high-risk groups mentioned above, it is recommended to have a general endoscopy every 2 years. If the test results are mildly dysplasia, it is fixed once a year, and if the test results are moderately dysplasia, it is fixed once every six months to kill the cancer risk in advance.
Picture design: Chang Superman
Editor-in-Charge: Arbor
Scientific Review: Wild Bull Health Medical Team
Original article, reproduced please indicate the source