Inflammation and oesophageal cancer : a study of genetic polymorphisms

Abstract

Cancer is a major medical challenge of this era. About one in every three persons develops cancer in his lifetime. By the time they are diagnosed, most cancers have already metastasized. The treatment of cancer depends upon the stage of the cancer. Localized cancers are best treated by surgery and adjuvant therapies. The drugs used to treat cancers have many toxic side effects and despite initial remission, many cancers recur with the passage of time. Early diagnosis of cancer is critical to curative therapy. Thousands of laboratories around the world are trying hard to discover biomarkers that may indicate the risk or presence of cancer. Many successes have been achieved in screening cancers or identifying high risk individuals by testing for biomarkers e.g. PSA in prostate cancer, FOBT in CRC, AMAS in breast cancer etc. Individual variability of DNA sequence distinguishes one person from another and has been used to search for biomarkers for cancer susceptibility. DNA markers of cancer susceptibility could have a dramatic impact on the overall survival because they can identify predisposition at an early stage in life. Inherited BRCA-1 mutation is a good example of this.