The evidence gap between alcohol consumption and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in east Africa

Abstract

We welcome the comments by Jin Zhang and colleagues on our study,1 which reported the strong role of alcohol consumption in oesophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) in east Africa. Our findings, which showed that alcohol consumption was a risk factor for ESCC, are consistent with the IARC monographs.2 In Kenya and Tanzania, we found that a large proportion of male patients with ESCC was attributable to alcohol consumption. Public health actions to reduce harmful alcohol consumption will benefit not only cancer prevention but also prevention of other NCDs and alcohol-associated harms in society.