Abstract
A survey on esophageal cancer exposure from 1995 to 1997 was carried at the radiotherapy service of the Charity Hospital in Florianopolis city, capital of Santa Catarina State, southern region of Brazil. From a total of 2, 495 medical registers, 134 cases were of esophageal cancer affecting 80.5% of males and only 19.5% of females. Most of the patients were from the South and West regions of Santa Catarina (28 and 27%, respectively), regions of high corn flour consumption and maize production. It was observed that farmers presented the highest incidence of esophageal cancer, followed by bricklayers, miners, drivers, and carpenters. Most of the patients had the habit of smoking and drinking alcohol regularly, and 27% of patients used to drink chimarrao. Some patients had those habits associated i.e., they used to smoke, drink alcohol, and also have chimarräo.
