AIM: To estimate the incidence of esophageal cancer (EC) in Kilimanjaro in comparison to other regions in Tanzania.

METHODS: We also examined the clinical, epidemiologic, and geographic distribution of the 1332 EC patients diagnosed and/or treated at Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) during the period 2006-2013. Medical records were used to abstract patient information on age, sex, residence, smoking status, alcohol consumption, tumor site, histopathologic type of tumor, date and place of diagnosis, and type and date of treatment at ORCI. Regional variation of EC patients was investigated at the level of the 26 administrative regions of Tanzania. Total, age- and sex-specific incidence rates were calculated.

RESULTS: Male patients 55 years and older had higher incidence of EC than female and younger patients. Of histopathologically-confirmed cases, squamous-cell carcinoma represented 90.9% of histopathologic types of tumors. The administrative regions in the central and eastern parts of Tanzania had higher incidence rates than western regions, specifically administrative regions of Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, and Tanga had the highest rates.

CONCLUSION: Further research should focus on investigating possible etiologic factors for EC in regions with high incidence in Tanzania.