Increasing trend of the incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, but not adenocarcinoma, in Taiwan

Epidemiologic data on esophageal cancer in Asia are extremely limited. We examined temporal trends in the incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) in Taiwan. Patients with esophageal cancer were identified from the Taiwan Cancer Registry between 1979 and 2003. Age-standardized incidences of ESCC and EA were calculated based on the national census and world standard population. Trends in incidence rates were estimated by calculating the annual percentage change (APC). The age-standardized incidence of ESCC increased progressively (from 1979–1983 to 1999–2003: 2.63 to 4.37 per 100,000-year), with an APC higher in male (3.27%, P < 0.0001) than that in female (1.23%, P = 0.03). Though the crude incidence of EA progressively increased in both gender (male: 0.28–0.49 per 100,000-year; female 0.07–0.11 per 100,000-year), the age-standardized incidence of EA is similar along the study period with an APC of 0.72% (P = 0.20) in male and 1.59% (P = 0.30) in female. In Taiwan, the incidence of ESCC significantly increased from 1979 to 2003, whereas the incidence of EA remained unchanged. Although EA incidence has not recently increased, it could in the future.