>>Our dear neighbor, a man who has NEVER smoked in his life, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer several months ago. He’s doing well, thank God. But let us not get carried away with the assumption that being a non-smoker guarantees much of anything.<<
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
The recent shift in the histology of esophageal cancer and the wide geographic variation in incidence have provided insights into the pathophysiology and risk factors associated with the disease. The relative public health importance of these different risk factors may be substantially different in different parts of the world.
Smoking increases the risk of both squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, although the risk is more established for squamous cell carcinoma. When compared with nonsmokers, male smokers have at least a fourfold increase in risk of this disease. The risk correlates directly with the amount and duration of smoking. When smokers quit, their risk continues to exceed that of nonsmokers for several years after smoking cessation.
In the Western Hemisphere, alcohol is also a major risk factor for the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk by a factor of 10 to 25, depending on the type and quantity of alcoholic beverages consumed, although it appears that the amount of alcohol rather than the type is of greatest importance.3 Smoking has a synergistic effect with heavy alcohol consumption, and heavy exposure to both increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma by a factor of more than 100. This is further complicated by the increased risk of other aerodigestive tract cancers in a person who smokes and drinks alcohol.
www.clevelandclinicmeded.com
I have no doubt that the Cleveland Clinic’s information is true. Thank you for sending it.
My point, though badly written, was supposed to convey that non-smokers would do well not to assume that they are/will be exempt from every imaginable malady, simply on the basis that they’re smoke-free. Especially those who are overweight and refuse to look at the new stats on that issue.