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The Etiology and Prevention of Aerodigestive Tract Cancers

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The Biology and Prevention of Aerodigestive Tract Cancers

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 320))

Abstract

In the United States, the currently estimated number of deaths owing to upper digestive (oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus) and respiratory (larynx and lung) tract cancers represents almost 40% of the overall cancer mortality rate in males and 23% in females. Of the approximately 1,040,000 incidences of cancers in men and women estimated for 1990 in the United States, 20% have been diagnosed in the aerodigestive tract (Table 1) (1). Aerodigestive tract cancer incidence rates appear more commonly in males throughout the world, where the male:female incidence ratios may vary between 2 and 6, and, within most geographic areas, vary inversely with socioeconomic status. In North America and Western Europe, the major risk factors for aerodigestive tract squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are alcohol and tobacco. Approximately 140,000 deaths in the United States each year, owing to upper digestive and respiratory tract cancers, can be attributed to cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.

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  1. Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    David Schottenfeld

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  1. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Guy R. Newell  & Waun Ki Hong  & 

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Schottenfeld, D. (1992). The Etiology and Prevention of Aerodigestive Tract Cancers. In: Newell, G.R., Hong, W.K. (eds) The Biology and Prevention of Aerodigestive Tract Cancers. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 320. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3468-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3468-6_1

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