"The similarity in these trends gives further evidence for the association of carbohydrate intake, obesity, and related measures with cancer," Dr. Cheryl L. Thompson told Reuters Health.
She and colleagues caution, however, that such observations do not necessarily reflect individual risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma
The researchers, all associated with Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, in Ohio, compared National Cancer Institute data for esophageal adenocarcinoma (1973-2001) and food consumption information from the National Nutrient Data Bank (1909-1997).
The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma increased over the review period and "strongly correlated" with carbohydrate consumption. This cancer is also known to be strongly associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), which, in turn, associated with obesity and a high carbohydrate intake, the investigators report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
By contrast, they noted a decrease in the rates of squamous cell cancer of the esophagus, which is more closely associated with smoking rather than reflux disease and obesity.
