[Evaluation of segregation ratio and hereditability of esophageal cancer--a comparative epidemiologic study in Huai'an County].

A genetic epidemiologic case-control study including 407 pedigrees (249 cases and 158 controls) was carried out to estimate the segregation ratio and the hereditability (h2) of esophageal cancer by using the method of Li-Mantel-Gart and Falconer, respectively, and to compare the genetic epidemiologic features from the other cancers. The results showed that the segregation ratio of esophageal cancer was 0.1347, significantly less than 0.25 and the genetic model belonged to polygenetics. The h2 of esophageal cancer was 21.41%, 20.23% for female and 13.57% for male. It is concluded that genetic factor is one of the risk factors for esophageal cancer and specially of importance for female, but it is not a main risk factor for esophageal cancer. The results of comparative epidemiologic study among the cancers of lung, stomach, liver and large bowel showed that the segregation ratios of the cancers (except stomach, no data) were all less than 0.25, and the h2 of gastric and liver cancers were higher, which were 52.40% and 51.85%, respectively.