EPIDEMIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY OF BARRETTS-ADENOCARCINOMA

In the United Stales, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has r isen faster than any other malignancy in recent Sitars, and now repres ents the most common histologic type of esophageal cancer observed in major institutions. The precise etiology of tills malignancy, and the epidermiologic variables responsible for its dramatically rising incid ence, remains obscure. Elucidation of the molecular biology of maligna nt transformation in Barrett's esophagus may improve the management of patients with advanced esophageal adenocarcinomas. Furthermore, appre ciation of the molecular events associated with esophageal adenocarcin ogenesis may facilitate early detection of occult carcinomas, and enab le therapeutic interventions designed to prevent these otherwise highl y lethal neoplasms. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.