Smoking Clearly Linked to Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus — a type of solid tumor whose prevalence is increasing rapidly in the U.S. and western Europe — is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men worldwide. The disease has been associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett esophagus, but other factors contributing to its rise have not been clearly established. Limited data have suggested a potential contribution from cigarette smoking.

Researchers now report pooled data from 2990 esophageal-adenocarcinoma patients and 9453 healthy controls from 12 observational studies that are part of the International Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON). Multiple potential contributors to the risk for develop…