부산대학교 도서관

Background Malaysia is a unique Asian country with multiracial, multicultural and multi-religion society. It is divided into six regions geographically and each region has different population distribution and socioeconomic status. Urbanization occurs more rapidly in the central region with higher population density and household income. We would like to compare the epidemiology of esophageal cancer between Northern and Central Malaysia. Methods A review of esophageal cancer from two regional tertiary referral centers in Northern and Central Malaysia in 2014–2017. Results A total of 143 esophageal cancers were detected during the study period, 60 cases from northern region and 83 cases from central region. In both regions, the mean age of diagnosis was similar (63.3 vs 62.0). More male patients were noted in Central Malaysia (71% vs 62%). Esophageal cancer was commonest in the Chinese ethnicity in both regions. Cardioesophageal junction was the commonest location of cancer and majority of patients presented with dysphagia in both regions. For tumour histology, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the commonest (49.4%) in the Central as compared to adenocarcinoma in the North (47.5%). The incidence of SCC was highest among the Indian population in both regions while adenocarcinoma was the commonest tumour in other ethnicity. Most of the patients in both regions presented with advanced disease and the incidence of stage 4 disease was higher in the North (65% vs 48%). Hence, there were more patients who underwent curative intend surgery in the central region (58% vs 28.5%). Conclusion The epidemiology of esophageal cancer is similar in both regions in Malaysia. Esophageal cancer is commonest among the Chinese. Further studies are needed to explore the tumour biology, host genetic factors and sociocultural practice for better understanding of esophageal cancer among the multiracial population in Malaysia. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]