Risk Factors Related to Esophageal Cancer, a Case-Control Study in Herat Province of Afghanistan

The Herat province of Afghanistan is located on the Asian Esophageal Cancer Belt (AECB), a wide area in Central and Eastern Asia where very high rates of esophageal cancer (EC) have been observed. Several risk factors have been reported in the AECB Region by previous studies. Considering lack of information in Afghanistan on this issue, a study was conducted to determine the major risk factors related to EC in order to guide protective measures.

A population-based case-control study was performed from July 2015 to August 2016 among 657 EC patients in the Herat Province and 180 histopathological confirmed cases and 189 controls were interviewed. A structured questionnaire was used and face-to-face interviews were conducted.

Low body mass index (BMI), low socio-economic status, family history of EC, consumption of dark tea, very hot beverage and qulurtoroosh were found to be statistically significant for EC and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in univariate analyses. According to multivariate analyses, sex (OR=2.268; 95% CI=1.238–4.153), very hot beverages (OR=2.253; 95% CI=1.271– 3.996), qulurtoroosh (OR=5.679; 95% CI=1.787–18.815), dark tea (OR=2.757; 95% CI=1.531–4.967), high previous BMI (OR=0.215; 95% CI=0.117–0.431) and low socio-economic status (OR=1.783; 95% CI=1.007–3.177) were associated with ESCC. Being male was found to increase the risk of ESCC with OR=2.268 (95% CI=1.238–4.153).

Consuming very hot beverages dark tea and a local food, qulurtoroosh, were found as important risk factors for EC. Our findings warrant further studies and necessitate the implementation of protective measures for EC which is one of the leading cancers in the region.