Hiccups a possible sign of cancer: study (Reuters)

An interesting items from Health News

Wed Apr 19th 2006 at 3:40 pm ET

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Persistent hiccupping in addition to weight-loss and difficulty swallowing could be a warning sign of cancer of the esophagus, an Irish researcher said on Wednesday.

Professor Tom Walsh, of the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Dublin, told a meeting of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that some patients with esophageal cancer complain of persistent hiccups.

"Up to now, hiccups have not been recognized as a possible harbinger of cancer," Walsh told Reuters. . . . .

Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with more than 400,000 cases detected each year, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France. "

Pete's Points:
I don't really know whether to be pleased or devastated!

I was told this was one of the rare forms of cancer. If the information from France is to be believed it is becoming positively common!