About Me
My name is Abigail, and I am a first-year PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast. I completed my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science in 2022 at Queen’s University Belfast, and later pursued my Masters of Public Health in Global Health at Queen’s University Belfast as well. During my undergraduate degree, I completed a summer studentship at the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, where I developed an interest in how cancer occurs in different groups of people (also known as Cancer Epidemiology). I would like to continue in the field of Cancer Epidemiology, and I am therefore very excited to be working on a project investigating oesophageal cancer in younger people in Ireland, based in the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast.
How Common is Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma?
Oesophageal adenocarcinoma is one of two common subtypes of oesophageal cancer that commonly occurs in the lower part of the oesophagus. It is the most common subtype in countries such as Australia, Canada, and other countries in Western and Northern Europe and North America. It is also more common in men. Having gastroesophageal reflux and being overweight/obese can increase an individual’s risk of developing oesophageal adenocarcinoma.
In Northern Ireland, between the years 2018 and 2022, 1,109 individuals were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, 9.4% of whom were under 54 years of age. In the Republic of Ireland, between 2017 and 2021, there were 2,522 oesophageal cancer diagnoses, 10.5% of whom were under 54 years of age.
What is Barrett’s Oesophagus?
Barrett’s oesophagus is a condition where the cells that line the oesophagus have changed to resemble cells that line the intestine. While there is a chance that these cells can progress to oesophageal adenocarcinoma, not all individuals with Barrett’s oesophagus will develop oesophageal adenocarcinoma. In Northern Ireland, for example, only 0.3% of people with Barrett’s oesophagus progress to develop oesophageal adenocarcinoma per year.
What Do We Know About Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma in Younger People?
Oesophageal adenocarcinoma, especially in younger individuals under 50 has become an increasingly important area of research, as a study has indicated a more than three-fold increase in diagnoses among individuals under 50 years of age between 1975 and 2015 in the United States of America. Despite relatively limited research focusing on younger patients, findings suggest that younger patients may present at a more advanced stage of disease compared to older patients. It remains unclear if there are differences in survival outcomes among younger patients compared to older individuals with oesophageal adenocarcinoma, indicating the need for further investigation.
While these studies have been instrumental in forming our understanding of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in younger people, there still are gaps in the research in this age group. More studies into risk factors and trends in oesophageal adenocarcinoma among younger people would be essential pieces of the larger puzzle of the landscape of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in younger people.
What’s Next?
To answer the question “what do we know about younger people with oesophageal adenocarcinoma?”, turns out there is still much to find out! There is a need for more studies investigating the oesophageal adenocarcinoma subtype in younger patients specifically. Considering evidence of a rise in oesophageal adenocarcinoma in younger people, there is an urgent need for more research in this age group.
The island of Ireland is home to incredible cancer databases in the form of cancer registries. These registries have been recognised to have high quality population level data. Through my PhD project, I aim to bring together data from these databases to:
- to investigate the incidence and survival of younger people with oesophageal adenocarcinoma across the island of Ireland
- identify trends in the incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma among younger people on the island of Ireland
- investigate some of the reasons why we are seeing an increase in oesophageal adenocarcinoma in younger people, such as obesity and Barrett’s oesophagus
- contribute to the growing body of evidence globally
Alongside analysing the data on oesophageal adenocarcinoma in younger people, it is also important to hear from patients themselves about their experiences. Therefore, I plan to speak to younger patients with an oesophageal adenocarcinoma diagnosis about their lived experience, which will give us a clearer picture of the specific needs of younger patients. This would be the first study on the island of Ireland investigating the lived experience of younger patients.
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