Alcohol consumption and oesophageal squamous cell cancer risk in East Africa

A new international study led by scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Moi University in Kenya, and the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute and the Malawi College of Medicine in Malawi investigated alcohol consumption as a risk factor for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in East Africa. The study, published today in The Lancet Global Health and funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, showed that alcohol consumption was a substantial contributor to the burden of ESCC in this region, particularly among men.

The findings suggest that a large fraction of these cancers could be prevented by cessation of alcohol consumption, particularly among drinkers whose drinking includes the consumption of strong spirits. These spirits include commercial spirits as well as the traditional distillations of chang’aa in Kenya, gongo in the United Republic of Tanzania, and kachasu in Malawi.

Middleton DRS, Mmbaga BT, Menya D, Dzamalala C, Nyakunga-Maro G, Finch P, et al.
Alcohol consumption and oesophageal squamous cell cancer risk in east Africa: findings from the large multicentre ESCCAPE case-control study in Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi
Lancet Glob Health, Published online 15 December 2021;
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00506-4

Read IARC Press Release 306

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Read more about the ESCCAPE study