Exome sequencing identifies novel somatic variants in African American esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal cancer has a strikingly low survival rate mainly due to the lack of diagnostic markers for early detection and effective therapies. In the U.S.

African-American esophageal squamous cell carcinoma expression profile reveals dysregulation of stress response and detox networks.

Background: Esophageal carcinoma is the third most common gastrointestinal malignancy worldwide and is largely unresponsive to therapy. African-Americans have an increased risk for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the subtype that shows marked variation in geographic frequency. The molecular architecture of African-American ESCC is still poorly understood.

Palliative ethanol injections of unresectable advanced esophageal carcinoma combined with chemoradiation.

Combined chemoradiation therapy has proven to be an effective treatment for unresectable esophageal cancer. Nonsurgical endoscopic palliation of local disease has become feasible with neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser, BICAP tumor probe, and metallic stents. Alternatively, endoscopic injections of ethanol are safe, inexpensive, and useful for palliation of malignant dysphagia.