Abstract

Introduction: Understanding the epidemiology of Esophageal Cancer (EC) seems to be essential in order to plan and control it. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and mortality rate of EC and its relationship with the worldwide Human Development Index (HDI) of 2012. Materials and Methods: This study was an ecological study which assessed the correlation of age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and agestandardized mortality rate (ASMR) of EC with HDI and its components. ASIR and ASMR data for EC were extracted from the global cancer project for the year 2012. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS 16. Results: From EC were recorded worldwide in 2012, there was a total of 455,784 incidents of EC (70.86 males and 29.14 females; ratio of males to females was 2.43:1) and 400,169 mortalities (70.27 males and 29.73 females; ratio of males to females was 2.36:1). The correlation between HDI and SIR was -0.121 (p=0.105); with -0.061 (p=0.415) for men and -0.190 (p=0.010) for women. Moreover, the correlation between HDI and SMR was -0.156 (p=0.036), with -0.101 (p=0.180) for men and -0.218 (p=0.003) for women. Conclusion: The incidence and mortality rates from EC is higher in less developed or developing countries. No statistically significant correlation was seen between the standardized mortality or incidence rates of EC and the 2012 HDI.