preview

Oesophageal Cancer Essay

Decent Essays

1.1.0 Cancer, a global health problem
Cancer is an important global health issue which affects millions of people annually and burdens national health systems. Despite modest reductions in the incidence of certain cancer types, overall the prevalence of cancer is increasing worldwide (1). It has been estimated that approximately 14.1 million people were diagnosed with cancer, in 2012 (2). The increase in cancer incidence is attributed to various causes such as the increase in population age as well as daily life habits which include obesity, poor diet, smoking and alcohol consumption (1).
Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth highest cause of cancer-related mortality. Oesophageal cancer results in high fatality rates, with a calculated 400,200 deaths out of 455,800 cases in 2012 (3). The five-year survival rate for oesophageal cancer is shockingly low at 12-15% (4). The poor survival is thought to be due to late diagnosis of the disease, invasiveness of surgery and a lack of targeted therapies. Importantly, oesophageal cancer …show more content…

The Lauren classification separates gastric cancer into two histological types; intestinal and diffuse (8). Oesophageal cancer is either oesophageal squamous carcinoma which is the most extensive type of oesophageal cancer in Asia or oesophageal adenocarcinoma which comprises the majority of oesophageal cancer cases in the UK and Europe (9). A recent study published in Nature Medicine in 2015, used high-throughput sequencing to characterise gastric cancer subtypes and devise a genetic categorisation system; tumour protein 53 (TP53) active and inactive, microsatellite-unstable and mesenchymal-like diffuse tumours (10) . Classification of subtypes of cancer by molecular profiling should further understanding of tumour evolution and genomic heterogeneity, and may inform clinical decision making

Get Access