Burden of Esophageal Cancer According to World Health Organization Regions: Review of Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: Esophageal carcinoma is regarded as a malignant disease with fatal consequences. In cancers, it was the sixth cause of death in the world, with an estimated 439025 deaths in 2015. Objectives: We conducted a research to evaluate the esophageal carcinoma burden based on the World Health Organization regions, during 2000 to 2015. Methods: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) was used to retrospectively collect the data from 2000 to 2015. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation publishes the data. We utilized disability adjusted life years (DALY), incidence rate and prevalence rate to describe the esophageal cancer burden in the world. Results: In 2015, there were a total of 9854406 DALYs attributed to esophageal cancer where the majority were related the years of life lost (YLL) (9725791), and 128613 of the total were concerned with years lost due to disability (YLD). The highest of DALYs was in the Western Pacific region with 4773660 of the total. The Eastern Mediterranean region, with 516412 DALYs, shows the lowest number. Conclusions: The esophageal carcinoma is still a public health problem in high incidence countries. In all countries, the majority of the DALYs is related to YLL, indicating that prevention and early detection should be taken seriously. The burden of esophageal cancer is different in geographical regions. Therefore, a suitable and specific program in every region and country should be developed.