Esophageal cancer is a common malignant tumor in human, accounting for more than 90% of esophageal tumors, and ranking the 2nd only after stomach cancer in all malignant tumor death review surveys. The word “cancer” usually feels very distant and there is no concern at all, but when people around me suddenly got cancer without any precaution, I felt that cancer is so close to me. The one who got sick is a relative of my family, who is only in his forties and works in Shenzhen, and he has no abnormality found in his yearly health checkups. Years ago on the phone to talk about the discomfort of the throat, I asked him to eat when there is a feeling of unease, and immediately suggested that he did a gastroscopy, found esophageal cancer, heard the news, all think how can it be! When I heard this news, I thought how could it be possible! I usually have such a good body, routine health checkups are fine, tumor markers are normal, and I can’t believe it, but the reality is so cruel, which suggests that gastroscopy should be one of the routine health checkups, and don’t let down your guard because of the normal health checkups. Esophageal cancer is a common malignant tumor in human beings, accounting for more than 90% of esophageal tumors, and ranking 2nd only after gastric cancer in the retrospective survey of all malignant tumor deaths. It is estimated that about 300,000 people die of esophageal cancer every year in the world, and China is one of the regions with high incidence of esophageal cancer in the world, with an average of about 150,000 people dying of the disease every year. The incidence of esophageal cancer is more common in men than in women, and the age of incidence is more than 40 years old. What are the causes of esophageal cancer? Cause 1: Lack of attention to dietary habits The disease can be induced by long time consumption of rough and hard food, or eating too hot or too fast, long time consumption of strong tea and stimulating food such as chili peppers, and a lot of smoking and alcoholism. Reason 2: The triggering of other esophageal lesions Clinical trials have found that certain esophageal lesions such as esophageal cardia dystrophy, esophagitis, benign esophageal stenosis and other esophageal disorders cause a higher incidence of the disease, which may be related to the long-term stimulation of the esophageal mucosa. Reason 3: Long-term consumption of nitrosamine compounds It has been proved by animal experiments that nitrosamine compounds are a kind of carcinogenic substances. Especially in the high incidence area in China, people like to eat moldy and pickled food, such as sauerkraut, bean paste, corn flour, etc. Long-term consumption can easily cause esophageal cancer. Reason 4: Lack of trace elements Through investigating the high incidence area of esophageal cancer, it is found that the content of molybdenum, copper, iron, zinc and other trace elements in the water of the area is low, which may be closely related to the occurrence of the disease. Therefore, you should eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure the intake of these elements. Cause 5: Hereditary factors Esophageal cancer has significant family aggregation phenomenon, and it is common to see families with three or more consecutive generations of the disease in high incidence areas. However, esophageal cancer is absolutely not hereditary, and it is inextricably related to family dietary habits.