TY - JOUR A2 - Fisichella, P. Marco AU - Illig, Romana AU - Klieser, Eckhard AU - Kiesslich, Tobias AU - Neureiter, Daniel PY - 2013 DA - 2013/03/20 TI - GERD—Barrett—Adenocarcinoma: Do We Have Suitable Prognostic and Predictive Molecular Markers? SP - 643084 VL - 2013 AB - Due to unfavorable lifestyle habits (unhealthy diet and tobacco abuse) the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in western countries is increasing. The GERD-Barrett-Adenocarcinoma sequence currently lacks well-defined diagnostic, progressive, predictive, and prognostic biomarkers (i) providing an appropriate screening method identifying the presence of the disease, (ii) estimating the risk of evolving cancer, that is, the progression from Barrett’s esophagus (BE) to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), (iii) predicting the response to therapy, and (iv) indicating an overall survival—prognosis for EAC patients. Based on histomorphological findings, detailed screening and therapeutic guidelines have been elaborated, although epidemiological studies could not support the postulated increasing progression rates of GERD to BE and EAC. Additionally, proposed predictive and prognostic markers are rather heterogeneous by nature, lack substantial proofs, and currently do not allow stratification of GERD patients for progression, outcome, and therapeutic effectiveness in clinical practice. The aim of this paper is to discuss the current knowledge regarding the GERD-BE-EAC sequence mainly focusing on the disputable and ambiguous status of proposed biomarkers to identify promising and reliable markers in order to provide more detailed insights into pathophysiological mechanisms and thus to improve prognostic and predictive therapeutic approaches. SN - 1687-6121 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/643084 DO - 10.1155/2013/643084 JF - Gastroenterology Research and Practice PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -