About the Authors

Farhad Islami

farhad.islami@mssm.edu (FI); sianasseri@yahoo.com (SN-M)

Affiliations Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, The Tisch Cancer Institute and Institute for Transitional Epidemiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America

Siavosh Nasseri-Moghaddam

farhad.islami@mssm.edu (FI); sianasseri@yahoo.com (SN-M)

Affiliation Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Akram Pourshams

Affiliation Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Hossein Poustchi

Affiliation Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Shahryar Semnani

Affiliation Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

Farin Kamangar

Affiliations Department of Public Health Analysis, School of Community Health and Policy, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Arash Etemadi

Affiliations Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America, Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Shahin Merat

Affiliation Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Masoud Khoshnia

Affiliation Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

Sanford M. Dawsey

Affiliation Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America

Paul D. Pharoah

Affiliation Departments of Oncology and Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Paul Brennan

Affiliation International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

Christian C. Abnet

Affiliation Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America

Paolo Boffetta

Affiliations The Tisch Cancer Institute and Institute for Transitional Epidemiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America, International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, France

Reza Malekzadeh

Affiliation Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: FI S-NM AP FK SMD PDP P. Brennan CCA P. Boffetta RM. Performed the experiments: FI HP SS AE SM MK. Analyzed the data: FI. Wrote the paper: FI S-NM SMD. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: FI S-NM AP FK SMD PDP P. Brennan CCA P. Boffetta RM HP SS AE SM MK. Approval of the final manuscript: FI S-NM AP FK SMD PDP P. Brennan CCA P. Boffetta RM HP SS AE SM MK.