Carcinoma of oesophagus--aetiological factors and epidemiology: an overview.

Tobacco and alcohol, opium, hot tea and food, bracken and tannins, plant irritants, fungal infection, nitrosamines, nitrates and nitrites, moldy foods and mycotoxins and dietary deficiencies have received attention as aetiological factors for carcinoma of oesophagus. Global epidemiology and epidemiology at the national level show that it has marked regional pattern with steep gradients and marked variations among countries and provinces suggesting a strong aetiological role of environmental risk factors. The aetiological agents for carcinoma of oesophagus appear to be many which may act together or successively upon the oesophagus.