Esophageal cancer: from pathogenesis to precision therapies - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #Tumorigenesis
- #Esophageal Cancer
- #Precision Medicine
- Esophageal cancer (EC) includes esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), posing a significant global health burden due to delayed diagnosis and limited treatment efficacy.
- Key aspects reviewed include risk factors, stepwise tumorigenesis, early detection and prevention strategies, and emerging therapies, with emphasis on molecular mechanisms like genetic mutations, epigenetic modifications, and tumor microenvironment alterations.
- Clonal expansion and metabolic reprogramming contribute to intratumoral heterogeneity and cancer evolution, driven by sequential disruptions in molecular networks from normal epithelium to invasive carcinoma in both ESCC and EAC.
- Advances in early screening techniques and minimally invasive interventions offer new opportunities for prevention and early detection, especially in high-risk populations.
- Precision treatment progress includes chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and multidisciplinary approaches, aiming to improve clinical outcomes and enable precision prevention through better understanding of initiation and progression mechanisms.