the trend in histological changes and the incidence of esophagus cancer in iran (2003–2008)

background: esophageal cancer is the sixth cause of death in the world, there was a lack of population‑based information on the trend and incidence rate of esophagus cancer, so this study aimed to determine the incidence and pathological changes of esophagus cancer in iran. methods: in this study, data were extracted from annual cancer registry reports of iranian ministry of health between 2003 and 2008. standardized incidence rates were calculated using the world standard population, and incidence rate was calculated by age groups, sex, and histological type. data on epidemiologic trend and histology were analyzed using joinpoint software package. results: in this study, there were 18,177 recorded cases of esophagus cancer. of all cases, 45.72% were females and 54.28% were males. sex ratio was 1.19. the most common histological types related to squamous cell carcinoma nos and adenocarcinoma nos were 64.53% and 10.37%, respectively. the trend of annual changes of incidence rate significantly increased in both sexes. the annual percentage changes, the incidence rate was 7.9 (95% confidence interval [ci]: 3.3–12.6) for women and 9.6 (95% ci: 6.0–13.2) for men. the histology type of scc, large cell, nonkeratinizing and scc, keratinizing and scc, nos had a significant decreasing trend in total population (p < 0.05). conclusions: according to this study, the trend of age‑standardized incidence rate of esophagus cancer in iran is rising. hence, to prevent and control this cancer, it is necessary to investigate related risk factors and implement prevention programs in iran.