Integrated epidemiological and molecular data inform the relationship between precancer and cancer states of esophageal adenocarcinoma - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #cancer precursor
- #esophageal adenocarcinoma
- #Barrett's esophagus
- EAC often evolves over years, making early diagnosis crucial for prevention.
- BE, a presumed precursor, is found in only half of EAC cases, raising questions about its necessity.
- The study integrated epidemiological and molecular data from 3,100 EAC patients, including genomic analyses.
- Demographic and genomic features typical of BE were present in both BE-positive and BE-negative EAC cases.
- Advanced tumor stage was linked to a higher likelihood of BE-negative EAC, even in patients with prior BE diagnoses.
- Phylogenetic analyses indicated shared evolutionary paths between BE-positive and BE-negative EAC.
- Spatial transcriptomic and proteomic analyses showed intestinal metaplasia markers in both groups.
- Findings suggest a single pathway to EAC, with implications for early diagnosis and prevention strategies.