Researchers find relationship to adenocarcinoma of esophagus
TUESDAY, June 21 (HealthDay News) -- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may be linked with more cancers than previously believed, new research suggests.
The University of Southern California study authors noted that there's a clear relationship between GERD and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, which features tumors along the tubular portion of the esophagus.
However, the origin of tumors located at the far end of the esophagus where it connects to the stomach is the subject of debate. There are two distinct cancer types found there. One of those cancers is associated with Barrett mucosa -- a condition in which the cellular lining of the esophagus has been changed by reflux.
The second type of cancer that occurs at this location has no associated Barrett mucosa, and it's been suggested that these tumors have a different origin.
In their study, researchers examined data from 215 people who had surgery for cancer of the lining of the far end of the esophagus. Patients with Barrett mucosa had tumors that were diagnosed earlier, were smaller in size, earlier in stage, and less metastases than patients without detectable Barrett mucosa. The patients with Barrett mucosa also had a better five-year survival rate.
"Although overall survival in the two groups was significantly different, survival by tumor stage was similar," the study authors wrote in a prepared statement.
"This suggests that adenocarcinomas without detectable Barrett epithelium [Barrett mucosa] may not be a different type of tumor but rather a more advanced stage of the same disease. It is likely that these larger, more aggressive tumors have overgrown the Barrett epithelium in which they arose," the authors wrote.
If that's the case, that would double the number of deaths due to cancer caused by GERD, the authors said.
The study appears in the June issue of the journal Archives of Surgery.
SOURCE: JAMA/Archives journals, news release, June 20, 2005
Copyright © 2005 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.
