The researchers also identified a cluster of four known cancer biomarkers, or genetic abnormalities, in people with Barrett’s that significantly increases their risk of developing esophageal cancer.

The risk of developing esophageal cancer in this patient population is significantly reduced by therapy with aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

The researchers found that those with three or more of the cancer biomarkers upon enrollment in the study who also used aspirin or other NSAIDs had a 30 percent risk of esophageal cancer after 10 years, while those with the same biomarkers who did not use NSAIDs had a 79 percent risk of developing cancer within a decade of joining the study.

These findings have been identified by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center which will be published in the February 27 issue of PLoS Medicine.

The researchers hope that the biomarkers identified can one day be used in a clinical setting for identification of Barrett’s patients who are most likely to develop esophageal cancer and therefore benefit from aggressive cancer surveillance via endoscopy and chemoprevention with aspirin and other NSAIDs.

Find more details from the full report.

Post from: Blisstree

Barrett’s Esophagus Patients’ Risk of Esophageal Cancer, Reduced by Aspirin and Other NSAIDs

For the first time, researchers led by senior author Weibiao Cao (a researcher at Rhode Island Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine and surgery at Brown Medical School) have outlined the signaling pathway from cells damaged by acid, to the progression of esophageal cancer.

The researchers believe that this very same process can possibly happen in the body when cells are exposed to acid reflux.

“The role of acid is controversial. But we show that by exposing cells to acid for short periods of time, that affects a particular enzyme, triggering a chain of events that possibly leads to cancer of the esophagus.

Now that we have a better understanding of the signaling pathway, we can possibly identify who is at risk of developing cancer by determining the levels of this enzyme,” says senior author Weibiao Cao, a researcher at Rhode Island Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine and surgery at Brown Medical School.

Acid reflux has been known to be a major risk factor for cancer in people with Barrett’s esophagus.

Read more at Science Daily.

Post from: Blisstree

Acid Reflux to Esophageal Cancer Mechanism, Revealed