Molecular Mechanisms in Barrett's Metaplasia and Its Progression

The dramatic increase in the incidence and poor overall survival rates of esophageal/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma underscore the necessity to discover molecular markers that can be used for risk assessment, early diagnosis, and targeted therapeutic intervention. Barrett's esophagus (BE) is proposed to represent a precursor of esophageal/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. BE progression to invasive cancer is defined by a metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma progression characterized by an increasing accumulation of genetic changes associated with alterations in molecular gatekeepers of cell circuitries and tissue homeostasis. Using a combination of in situ tissue-based and high-throughput analyses, we investigated alterations of cell-cycle regulators and inflammation-associated molecular effectors. Our data suggest a potential synergistic effect of these alterations for the BE progression to cancer, and underscore the potential use of these markers: (1) in molecular panels assessing cancer risk in BE patients; and (2) as potential therapeutic targets for chemopreventive interventions and to enhance response to anti-neoplastic therapies.