celiac disease and esophageal cancer

background:â  northeastern iran has a high incidence for squamous cell esophageal carcinoma (escc). the aim of the study is to the assess relationship between celiac disease (cd) and escc. materials and methods:â  this was a two-part, cross-sectional, case-control study performed during 2006-2011 in gonbad, â golestan, iran. serum iga anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody levels were measured for all participants in the cross-sectional study (adult general population) as well as in escc cases and their matched (age and gender) controls. results:â  out of approximately 1.3% of the 2202 individuals selected from the general population, 0.8% of 258 escc cases and 0.2% of 457 controls had positive iga anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody levels. conclusion:â  the â prevalence of cd inâ  general population of gonbad district is a little higher than other parts of iran . relatively low prevalence of iga anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody in escc cases in northeastern iran does not support the presumption that cd is a major factor for the high incidence of escc in the region. however, as there is little higher prevalence of positivity for the antibody in escc cases than in controls, a cohort study of celiac disease patientsâ  isâ  much moreâ  suitable study to assess the relation between cd and escc.