345 cases included in esophageal cancer data

THE first batch of 345 cases of esophageal cancer have been added to a newly established database covering the Yangtze River Delta region, officials from Shanghai Chest Hospital, which leads the data-collecting project, said yesterday.

Esophageal cancer is the fifth most-lethal cancer in China and the five-year survival rate is only 33 percent.

“China is a country with a high prevalence of esophageal cancer. Over half of cases occur in China, especially the northern Jiangsu area of the Yangtze River Delta region,” said Dr Li Zhigang from Shanghai Chest Hospital. “Surgery is the key treatment for the cancer and early detection is extremely important to survival.”

He added that only 15 percent of esophageal cancer cases in China are detected in their early stages, compared with 30 to 50 percent in Japan.

“People living in a region with high prevalence should receive a gastroscope check every three years. Those at high risk, like people over 45 years old, having a family history of cancer, and who drink baijiu (a strong Chinese liquor) and smoke should receive screening every year,” Li said.

To gather clinical information about patients with esophageal cancer, the hospital teamed up with eight others to create the database. It plans to include 3,500 esophageal cancer surgery cases in the Yangtze River Delta region each year. Case details are collected to reflect the diagnosis and treatment abilities in the region and to help improve clinical practice.

“Since the database kicked off in September, 345 cases have been included and about 83 percent received minimally invasive surgery,” Li said. “A high-quality database can offer direction for clinical practice.”