[Relationship between lifestyle and dietary habits and the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma in different subsites of the esophagus]

Objective: To elucidate the association between lifestyle and dietary factors and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma( ESCC) in three different sections of the esophagus.

Methods: From January 2010 to December 2016, a hospital-based case-control study was conducted, and a total of 550 patients with ESCC and gender and age( ±3 age) frequency-matched 550 cancer-free control subjects were recruited in this study. Odds ratios( ORs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals( CIs) were calculated by using unconditional binary or multinomial logistic regression. Multiple correspondence analysis( MCA) was applied to illustrate the influence of the risk factors on different sections of the esophagus.

Results: Tea drinking was associated with lower risk of upper( Ut) and lower thoracic( Lt) ESCC( OR = 0. 40, 95% CI 0. 22-0. 73; OR= 0. 50, 95% CI 0. 31-0. 81; for Ut and Lt, respectively), and lower intake of vegetables increased the risk of Ut and Lt ESCC( OR = 3. 93, 95% CI 1. 61-9. 61; OR =2. 68, 95% CI 1. 30-5. 53; for Ut and Lt, respectively). Intake of hot food, hard food and lower intake of fruits were associated with an elevated risk of the ESCC in all subsites( P<0. 05). The strength of association between drinking and ESCC was lower in middle thoracic( Mt) compared with the Lt ESCC( OR = 0. 58, 95% CI 0. 35-0. 98). Moreover, this reduction of association strength were also found in eating hot food( OR = 0. 45, 95%CI 0. 27-0. 76) and lower intake of vegetables( Ut OR = 0. 44, 95% CI 0. 20-0. 99). However, the association between lower intake of fruits and the Mt ESCC risk was stronger compared with Lt ESCC( OR = 1. 66, 95% CI 1. 08-2. 55). In additional, the association between lower intake of fruits and the Ut ESCC risk was stronger compared with Mt ESCC. Joint category plot of MCA also identified the heterogeneous associations between risk factors and different sections of the esophagus.

Conclusion: Differences in risk factors of ESCC in different subsites, intake of hot food, hard food, and lower intake of vegetables were common risk factors for three subsites of ESCC.