Esophageal Cancer Research: State of the Art

Dear colleagues,

Esophageal malignancy is among the most fatal diseases worldwide. The two main histologic subtypes, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, are associated with different risk factors and molecular mechanisms, but mutations in TP53 and PIK3CA may affect both types. RAC1 activation can result in adenocarcinoma, whereas clustered abnormality in the copy number might lead to squamous cell carcinoma. DNA methylation and modifications in microRNAs can contribute to the carcinogenesis of both carcinomas. The role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the carcinogenesis of esophageal neoplasms is currently under investigation. In fact, it represents a functional protein network regulating key points in the microenvironment of malignant tumors. Regarding biologic therapy in esophageal cancer, target human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and immunomodulators have been proposed. Looking at the details, an overexpressed transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor (HER2) is a proto-oncogene and is considered an important tumor marker in esophageal malignancy. Moreover, EGFR is a transmembrane protein with a tyrosine kinase component present in more than 30% of esophagogastric neoplasms. A variety of novel biomarkers identified in esophageal carcinogenesis may play a crucial role in deciding the most beneficial regimen, predicting response to treatment, and composing targeted and combined treatment strategies. For instance, human programmed death receptor-1 blocking antibodies have resulted in promising disease-free survival rates combined with standard trimodality therapy in both selected adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinomas.

Authors are invited to submit their original research and review articles relevant to this Special Issue.

Dr. Dimitrios Schizas
Dr. Tania Triantafyllou
Guest Editors

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• esophageal cancer
• adenocarcinoma
• squamous cell carcinoma
• chemotherapy
• targeted therapy
• immunotherapy
• biomarkers
• survival research