什么是癌症预防？
癌症预防是为降低罹患癌症风险而采取的措施。通过预防癌症，以减少一定人群中新增癌症的数量，进而减少由癌症引起的死亡人数。
为预防癌症发生，研究人员关注的因素主要包括危险因素和保护因素两类。增加癌症发生风险的因素被称作危险因素；减少癌症发生风险的因素被称作保护因素。
癌症的危险因素中部分可以避免，但大多数无法避免。例如，吸烟和遗传都是某些癌症的危险因素，但只有吸烟可以避免。规律锻炼和健康饮食对于某些癌症而言可能是保护因素。规避危险因素和增加保护因素可能降低您的患癌风险，但并不能保证您一定不会患癌。
目前正在研究预防癌症的多种方法。
What is prevention?
Cancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a group or population is lowered. Hopefully, this will lower the number of deaths caused by cancer.
To prevent new cancers from starting, scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.
Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Regular exercise and a healthy diet may be protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your risk but it does not mean that you will not get cancer.
Different ways to prevent cancer are being studied.
食管癌基本特征
食管癌是指正常食管细胞癌变所导致的疾病。
食管是中空的肌性管道，可以将食物从咽喉运送至胃。食管壁由粘膜层（内膜）、肌层和结缔组织组成。食管癌多发生于食管内膜，随着生长逐渐向外层扩展。
食管和胃属于上消化道。
根据癌变细胞类型，食管癌最常见的两种类型包括：
请阅读以下PDQ概述获取更多关于食管癌的信息：
食管癌男性多发。
男性患食管癌的风险是女性的三倍。随着年龄的增长，食管癌患病风险升高。黑种人较白种人更易患食管鳞状细胞癌。
在美国，食管腺癌的发病率在过去20年内逐渐升高，如今食管腺癌比食管鳞状细胞癌更为常见。而食管鳞状细胞癌的发病率正在逐渐下降。
General Information About Esophageal Cancer
Esophageal cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the esophagus.
The esophagus is the hollow, muscular tube that moves food and liquid from the throat to the stomach. The wall of the esophagus is made up of several layers of tissue, including mucous membrane (inner lining), muscle, and connective tissue. Esophageal cancer starts in the inner lining of the esophagus and spreads outward through the other layers as it grows.
The esophagus and stomach are part of the upper gastrointestinal (digestive) system.
The two most common types of esophageal cancer are named for the type of cells that become malignant (cancerous):
See the following PDQ summaries for more information about esophageal cancer:
Esophageal cancer is found more often in men.
Men are about three times more likely than women to develop esophageal cancer. The chance of developing esophageal cancer increases with age. Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is more common in blacks than in whites.
In the United States, the rates of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus have increased in the last 20 years. It is now more common than squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The rates of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus are decreasing.
食管癌预防
规避危险因素和增加保护因素有助于预防癌症。
规避癌症的危险因素，如吸烟、超重和缺乏锻炼；增加癌症的保护因素，如戒烟和锻炼，可能有助于预防某些癌症。您可向医生或其他医疗保健专家咨询如何降低您的患癌风险。
食管鳞状细胞癌和食管腺癌的危险因素和保护因素存在差异。
下列危险因素可增加患食管鳞状细胞癌的风险:
吸烟和饮酒
研究表明，大量吸烟或饮酒的人患食管鳞状细胞癌的风险增加。
下列保护因素可降低患食管鳞状细胞癌的风险：
避免吸烟和饮酒
研究表明，不吸烟和不饮酒的人患食管鳞状细胞癌的风险更低。
非甾体类抗炎药用于化学预防
化学预防是指使用药物、维生素或其他物质降低患癌风险。非甾体类抗炎药包括阿司匹林和其他消炎、镇痛的药物。
有研究表明，非甾体类抗炎药可降低食管鳞状细胞癌的发病风险，但是会增加心脏病发作、心力衰竭、中风、胃肠道出血和肾脏损害的风险。
下列危险因素可增加患食管腺癌的风险:
胃反流
食管腺癌与胃食管反流病（GERD）密切相关，尤其是当GERD持续时间长、症状严重时。GERD是胃内容物(包括胃酸)反流至食管下段而导致的一种疾病。反流物会刺激食管，且随着时间的推移，可能会影响食管下段上皮细胞，导致Barrett食管发生。受影响的细胞逐渐被异常细胞取代，且可能发展为食管腺癌。GERD伴肥胖会进一步增加患食管腺癌的风险。
使用松弛食管下括约肌的药物可能会增加患GERD的风险。当下括约肌松弛时，胃酸可能向上反流至食管的下段。
目前尚不明确手术或其他治疗胃反流的方法能否降低患食管腺癌的风险。目前正在开展临床试验以确定手术或其他治疗方法能否预防Barrett食管。
下列保护因素可降低患食管腺癌的风险：
非甾体类抗炎药用于化学预防
化学预防是指使用药物、维生素或其他物质降低患癌风险。非甾体类抗炎药包括阿司匹林和其他消炎、镇痛的药物。
有研究表明，非甾体抗炎药可用于降低食管腺癌的发病风险，但是会增加心脏病发作、心力衰竭、中风、胃肠道出血和肾脏损害的风险。
射频消融术
Barrett食管伴异常细胞的患者可以采用射频消融术进行治疗。这种治疗方法利用无线电波产生高温清除可能进展为癌症的异常细胞。射频消融术的风险包括食管狭窄和食管、胃肠道出血。
一项纳入Barrett食管伴异常细胞的患者的研究通过比较接受射频消融术治疗者和未接受射频消融术治疗者发现：接受射频消融术者进展为食管癌的可能性更低。为了进一步了解射频消融术能否降低Barrett食管患者患食管腺癌的风险，还需要开展更多的研究。
癌症的预防临床试验可用于研究预防癌症的方法。
癌症的预防临床试验旨在研究降低特定癌症发生风险的方法。现有的癌症预防临床试验中，部分针对非癌症患者但患癌风险较高的健康人群；部分针对积极预防其他同类癌症或降低新癌症发生风险的癌症患者；其他针对于未暴露于癌症危险因素的健康志愿者。
部分癌症预防临床试验旨在验证防癌措施是否有效。这些措施包括多吃果蔬、锻炼、戒烟以及服用某些药物、维生素、矿物质和保健品。
正在开展食管癌新预防措施的临床试验。
NCI支持开展的临床试验信息可在NCI临床试验官网上查询，其他组织支持开展的临床试验信息可在ClinicalTrials.gov获取。
Esophageal Cancer Prevention
Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may help prevent cancer.
Avoiding cancer risk factors may help prevent certain cancers. Risk factors include smoking, being overweight, and not getting enough exercise. Increasing protective factors such as quitting smoking and exercising may also help prevent some cancers. Talk to your doctor or other health care professional about how you might lower your risk of cancer.
The risk factors and protective factors for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus are not the same.
The following risk factors increase the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus:
Smoking and alcohol use
Studies have shown that the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is increased in people who smoke or drink a lot.
The following protective factors may decrease the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus:
Avoiding tobacco and alcohol use
Studies have shown that the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is lower in people who do not use tobacco and alcohol.
Chemoprevention with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Chemoprevention is the use of drugs, vitamins, or other agents to try to reduce the risk of cancer. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) include aspirin and other drugs that reduce swelling and pain.
Some studies have shown that the use of NSAIDs may lower the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. However, the use of NSAIDs increases the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, bleeding in the stomach and intestines, and kidney damage.
The following risk factors increase the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus:
Gastric reflux
Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is strongly linked to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), especially when the GERD lasts a long time and severe symptoms occur daily. GERD is a condition in which the contents of the stomach, including stomach acid, flow up into the lower part of the esophagus. This irritates the inside of the esophagus, and over time, may affect the cells lining the lower part of the esophagus. This condition is called Barrett esophagus. Over time, the affected cells are replaced with abnormal cells, which may later become adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. Obesity in combination with GERD may further increase the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
The use of medicines that relax the lower sphincter muscle of the esophagus may increase the likelihood of developing GERD. When the lower sphincter muscle is relaxed, stomach acid may flow up into the lower part of the esophagus.
It is not known if surgery or other medical treatment to stop gastric reflux lowers the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. Clinical trials are being done to see if surgery or medical treatments can prevent Barrett esophagus.
The following protective factors may decrease the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
Chemoprevention with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Chemoprevention is the use of drugs, vitamins, or other agents to try to reduce the risk of cancer. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) include aspirin and other drugs that reduce swelling and pain.
Some studies have shown that the use of NSAIDs may lower the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. However, the use of NSAIDs increases the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, bleeding in the stomach and intestines, and kidney damage.
Radiofrequency ablation of the esophagus
Patients with Barrett esophagus who have abnormal cells in the lower esophagus may be treated with radiofrequency ablation. This procedure uses radio waves to heat and destroy abnormal cells, which may become cancer. Risks of using radiofrequency ablation include narrowing of the esophagus and bleeding in the esophagus, stomach, or intestines.
One study of patients who have Barrett esophagus and abnormal cells in the esophagus compared patients who received radiofrequency ablation with patients who did not. Patients who received radiofrequency ablation were less likely to be diagnosed with esophageal cancer. More study is needed in order to know whether radiofrequency ablation decreases the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus in patients with these conditions.
Cancer prevention clinical trials are used to study ways to prevent cancer.
Cancer prevention clinical trials are used to study ways to lower the risk of certain types of cancer. Some cancer prevention trials are conducted with healthy people who have not had cancer but who have an increased risk for cancer. Other prevention trials are conducted with people who have had cancer and are trying to prevent another cancer of the same type or to lower their chance of developing a new type of cancer. Other trials are done with healthy volunteers who are not known to have any risk factors for cancer.
The purpose of some cancer prevention clinical trials is to find out whether actions people take can prevent cancer. These may include eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, quitting smoking, or taking certain medicines, vitamins, minerals, or food supplements.
New ways to prevent esophageal cancer are being studied in clinical trials.
Information about clinical trials supported by NCI can be found on NCI’s clinical trials search webpage. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.
About This PDQ Summary
About PDQ
Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government’s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.
Purpose of This Summary
This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about esophageal cancer prevention. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
Reviewers and Updates
Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary ("Updated") is the date of the most recent change.
The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board.
Clinical Trial Information
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Clinical trials can be found online at NCI's website. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service (CIS), NCI's contact center, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Permission to Use This Summary
PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as “NCI’s PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: [include excerpt from the summary].”
The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:
PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. PDQ Esophageal Cancer Prevention. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated
Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3,000 scientific images.
Disclaimer
The information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page.
Contact Us
More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov website can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the website’s E-mail Us.
About This PDQ Summary
About PDQ
Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government’s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.
Purpose of This Summary
This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about esophageal cancer prevention. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
Reviewers and Updates
Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary ("Updated") is the date of the most recent change.
The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board.
Clinical Trial Information
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Clinical trials can be found online at NCI's website. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service (CIS), NCI's contact center, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Permission to Use This Summary
PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as “NCI’s PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: [include excerpt from the summary].”
The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:
PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. PDQ Esophageal Cancer Prevention. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated
Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3,000 scientific images.
Disclaimer
The information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page.
Contact Us
More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov website can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the website’s E-mail Us.