Purpose: Previous studies have shown declining overall trends of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the U.S. and worldwide. We aimed to study the recent trends of this malignancy using a large national database.
Methods: We queried the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End-results (SEER) 18 database to identify the trends in the incidence of esophageal SCC in the U.S. from 2000-2011. Eligible patients were identified using SEER histology codes 8050-8089. Age-adjusted rates were plotted by time period, using a logarithmic scale for the ordinate. Gender and race specific trends were also plotted. Data analysis was done using SEER Stat 8.1.5, and trend analysis was done using Jointpoint regression program 4.1. Discussion: The incidence of esophageal SCC has continued to decline in early 21st century among both genders and across all races. The most prominent decline is being seen in black males and Asian/Pacific Islander females.
Results: A total of 344,408 cases of esophageal SCC were identified, 57.9% were males. Among the identified cases, 82.1% were white, 12.1% were black and 5.1% were other (American Indian, Alaska native, Asian/Pacific Islander). The age-adjusted incidence rates steadily decreased from 40.2/100,000 in 2000 to 34.0/100,000 in 2011 (annual percentage change [APC] -1.1, P < .05). Declining trends in incidence were seen in both sexes as well as across all races (white, black, American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander); however, this was most prominent in black males (APC -3.2, P < .05) and Asian/Pacific Islander females (APC -3.9, P < .05).