Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors for cancer can help prevent cancer.
Avoiding risk factors for cancer, such as smoking, being overweight, and lack of exercise; and increasing protective factors for cancer, such as quitting smoking and exercising, may help prevent some cancers. You can talk to your doctor or other health care professional about how to reduce your risk of developing cancer.
There are differences in risk factors and protective factors for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
The following risk factors may increase the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma:
Smoking and alcohol use
Studies have shown that people who smoke heavily or drink alcohol have an increased risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
The following protective factors may reduce the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma:
Avoidance of smoking and drinking
Studies have shown that people who do not smoke and drink alcohol have a lower risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
NSAIDs for chemoprevention
Chemoprevention is the use of drugs, vitamins, or other substances to reduce the risk of developing cancer. NSAIDs include aspirin and other anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.
Some studies have shown that NSAIDs reduce the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, but increase the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding, and kidney damage.
The following risk factors can increase the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma:
Gastric reflux
Esophageal adenocarcinoma is closely associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), especially when GERD is prolonged and symptoms are severe.GERD is a disease caused by reflux of stomach contents (including stomach acid) into the lower esophagus. The reflux irritates the esophagus and, over time, may affect the epithelial cells of the lower esophagus, leading to the development of Barrett’s esophagus. GERD with obesity further increases the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
The use of medications that relax the lower esophageal sphincter may increase the risk of GERD. When the lower sphincter is relaxed, stomach acid may reflux upward into the lower part of the esophagus.
It is not clear whether surgery or other treatments for gastric reflux can reduce the risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma. Clinical trials are underway to determine whether surgery or other treatments can prevent Barrett’s esophagus.
The following protective factors may reduce the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for chemoprevention
Chemoprevention is the use of drugs, vitamins, or other substances to reduce the risk of developing cancer. NSAIDs include aspirin and other anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.
Some studies have shown that NSAIDs can be used to reduce the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma, but increase the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding, and kidney damage.
Radiofrequency ablation
Patients with Barrett’s esophagus with abnormal cells can be treated with radiofrequency ablation. This treatment uses radio waves to generate high temperatures to remove abnormal cells that may progress to cancer. The risks of radiofrequency ablation include esophageal stricture and bleeding from the esophagus and gastrointestinal tract.
A study that included patients with Barrett’s esophagus with abnormal cells found that those who underwent radiofrequency ablation were less likely to progress to esophageal cancer by comparing those who were treated with radiofrequency ablation to those who were not treated with radiofrequency ablation. More research is needed to further understand whether radiofrequency ablation can reduce the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma in patients with Barrett’s esophagus.
Cancer prevention clinical trials can be used to study ways to prevent cancer.
Prevention of cancer clinical trials are designed to investigate ways to reduce the risk of developing specific cancers. Some of the existing clinical trials in cancer prevention are aimed at healthy people who are not cancer patients but are at high risk of developing cancer; some are aimed at cancer patients who are actively preventing other similar cancers or reducing the risk of new cancers; and others are aimed at healthy volunteers who have not been exposed to cancer risk factors.
Some of the cancer prevention clinical trials are designed to verify that cancer prevention measures are effective. These include eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising, quitting smoking, and taking certain medicines, vitamins, minerals, and supplements.
Clinical trials of new preventive measures for esophageal cancer are underway.
Information on clinical trials supported by the NCI is available on the NCI Clinical Trials website, and information on clinical trials supported by other organizations is available at ClinicalTrials.gov.