Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers comprise a significant proportion of global cancer burden. Approximately 20% of newly diagnosed cancers in the United States are GI cancers and while lower GI cancers are among the top 3 most frequent cancers in the United States, upper GI cancers rank as the most prevalent type in many Asian countries. The mortality rate is still very high, especially in upper GI malignancies, which is predominantly a consequence of late diagnosis in advanced stages and lack of effective therapeutic modality in those aggressive tumors. Tremendous efforts have been directed to address the urgent need for discovery of sensitive and specific early diagnostic markers and efficient therapeutic modalities for GI malignancies.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will stimulate continuing efforts to introduce biomarkers that can serve as diagnostic tools for GI cancers (gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic cancer), unravelling the molecular pathologies that exert significant role in the pathogenesis of GI cancers with the capacity to be translated into an effective therapeutic modality, as well as efforts in developing novel therapeutic tools.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Early diagnostic markers of GI cancers including novel genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, circulating tumor markers and molecular imaging
• Prognostic markers and biomarkers that can guide therapeutic decision making especially in gastric and esophageal cancer
• Biomarkers for targeted therapy and their translation for clinical utility
• Molecular signature and genetic profiling of GI malignancies
• Biomarkers for monitoring therapeutic response and posttreatment follow-up
• New technologies in biomarker discovery, verification, and optimization for GI and liver cancers