Editorial:What Is Behind the Remarkable Increase in... : Official journal of the American College of Gastroenterology | ACG (original) (raw)
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS: ESOPHAGUS
Editorial: What Is Behind the Remarkable Increase in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma?
1 Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Correspondence: Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH, Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatolog, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, CB#7080, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7080, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Received 14 January 2014; accepted 14 January 2014
Abstract
Esophageal adenocarcinoma has undergone a marked increase in incidence in Western cultures. The cause of this rise is unclear, and multiple putative causal factors have been implicated in the literature. Although data regarding some of these factors are suggestive, none appear to completely explain the observed trends. Given the complexity of cancer biology, the variety of causative and protective factors involved, and the difficulty in accurate measurement of exposures and outcomes, isolating one or few causative factors is challenging. Understanding the driving force(s) behind these trends may require a better understanding of the interaction between risk factors, as well as the multiple ways in which a single risk factor may affect the pathogenesis of the tumor.
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