Gastroesophageal Cancers: Progress and Problems

Approximately 38,000 new patients will be diagnosed with gastroesophageal cancer in 2008. 1 Although this number may be trivial compared with more common cancers, the incidence of esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma has been steadily climbing over the past 20 years (www.cancer.org; accessed June 10, 2008). Although obesity, gastroesophageal reflux, and Barrett's metaplasia may contribute some or great extent to this alarming increase, some of the reasons for this increase remain elusive. 2 The global health burden imposed by gastroesophageal cancer parallels that imposed by lung cancer, with approximately 1.4 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths per year. 3 Furthermore, the mortality is likely to remain high because early detection of gastroesophageal cancer is not commonly practiced in most countries.