Molecular Biology and Clinical Management of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a highly lethal malignancy. Due to its rising incidence, EAC has become a severe health challenge in Western countries. Current treatment strategies are mainly chosen based on disease stage and clinical features, whereas the biological background is hardly considered. In this study, we performed a comprehensive review of existing studies and discussed how etiology, genetics and epigenetic characteristics, together with the tumor microenvironment, contribute to the malignant behavior and dismal prognosis of EAC. During the development of EAC, several intestinal-type proteins and signaling cascades are induced. The anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive microenvironment is associated with poor survival. The accumulation of somatic mutations at the early phase and chromosomal structural rearrangements at relatively later time points contribute to the dynamic and heterogeneous genetic landscape of EAC. EAC is also characterized by frequent DNA methylation and dysregulation of microRNAs. We summarize the findings of dysregulations of specific cytokines, chemokines and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and conclude that DNA methylation and microRNAs vary with each different phase of BE, LGD, HGD, early EAC and invasive EAC. Furthermore, we discuss the suitability of the currently employed therapies in the clinic and possible new therapies in the future. The development of targeted and immune therapies has been hampered by the heterogeneous genetic characteristics of EAC. In view of this, the up-to-date knowledge revealed by this work is absolutely important for future EAC studies and the discovery of new therapeutics.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:15

Enthalten in:

Cancers - 15(2023), 22 vom: 14. Nov.

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Li, Shulin [VerfasserIn]
Hoefnagel, Sanne Johanna Maria [VerfasserIn]
Krishnadath, Kausilia Krishnawatie [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Barrett’s esophagus
Epigenetics
Esophageal adenocarcinoma
Etiology
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Genetics
Journal Article
Review
Treatment

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 27.11.2023

published: Electronic

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.3390/cancers15225410

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM364928891