Lifestyle Risk Factors in Esophageal Cancer: An Integrative Review

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a prevalent type of cancer, affecting more than 16 000 people annually in the United States. Being a high-burden disease, the comprehensive management of EC is challenging, particularly for older adults. In addition, Asian countries have some of the highest age-standardized incidence rates of EC in the world. Epidemiologic studies have revealed that cigarette and cigar smoking, alcohol drinking, obesity, being overweight, and areca chewing increase the risk of EC. This integrative review aims to elucidate the association between lifestyle factors such dietary habits, smoking, and alcohol consumption and EC among the Asian populations with Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese ethnicity. The synthesis of the literature found that environmental factors play an important role in the risk of EC occurrence. Although most of the risk factors showed a positive relationship in increasing the risk, studies included in this review reported inconclusive results on whether tea and coffee are risk factors. The consumption of very hot beverages and low intake of green vegetable are associated with EC. Smoking, alcohol intake, and their interaction with diets were found to be the biggest factor in the development of EC. Registered nurses can educate about esophageal thermal injury among persons who have preference for drinking burning-hot beverages and those with multiple risk factors, such as those who smoke and drink excess alcohol, as well as promoting health behaviors and serving as patient advocates.