GASTRIC GOLD'S BLOG

Researchers have identified a protein that plays an important role in the development of stomach cancers and that could one day be a target for new treatments for the disease, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Scientists based at the Chinese University of Hong Kong explored the role of a protein called RAMP in stomach cancer cell lines and tissues, finding that it is more common in these cells compared to surrounding normal tissues.

The increased presence of RAMP suggests that this protein may play a pivotal role in the multi-step development of stomach cancer. Higher levels of the protein were seen in the very early stages of stomach cancer and were also present throughout the development of the disease. To add further evidence to RAMP's role in this cancer they found that the protein also encouraged cells to grow, fuelling the disease further.


Source
Cancer Research UK
This is the first study to establish a possible link between RAMP and stomach cancer and could help doctors to gain a better understanding of the disease, leading to more effective treatments.

Next the scientists proceeded to 'knock out' RAMP's function in two human gastric cancer cell lines. This slowed down the growth of the cancer in these cell lines and even led to cell death.

It is hoped that these findings could be the first step to developing a new approach to treating stomach cancer by developing treatments that 'switch off' RAMP. This could halt the growth of these tumours and even reduce tumour size.

Study author Dr WK Leung said: "We have established for the first time the role that RAMP plays in stomach cancer. Working out a role for RAMP in stomach cancer gives us more information about the common, but poorly understood steps that lead to the development of this cancer.

"We're very excited about with these results. The next stage of our research will aim to discover more about RAMP's specific role in stomach cancer and begin exploring the possibility of developing new drugs that can stop RAMP in its tracks."

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "This interesting study helps us understand more about the mechanisms behind the development of stomach cancer. One of the reasons that survival rates for stomach cancers remain low is because they are often at an advanced stage when diagnosed, so making it harder to treat successfully. We welcome new research that could one day help those with stomach cancer face a better prognosis."

In the UK more than 7,700 people are diagnosed with stomach cancer each year, with 95 per cent of cases among the over 50's. Over the last 25 years five-year survival rates have tripled in the UK, but the disease remains very difficult to treat successfully and five year survival is still low at around 15 per cent.

Labels: Cancer, stomach ulcer

Using the Vienna classification system, it has been shown in clinic-based cohorts that there can be a significant change in disease behavior over time, whereas disease location remains relatively stable. Clinical and environmental factors as well as medical therapy might be relevant in predicting disease behavior change in patients with CD. In previous studies, early age at diagnosis, disease location, perianal disease and, in some studies, smoking were associated with the presence of complicated disease and surgery.

The combined effect of markers of disease phenotype (e.g., age, gender, location, perianal diesease) and medical therapy (steroid use, early immunosupression) on the probability of disease behavior change were, however, not studied thus far in the published literature.

A research article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this problem. Members of the Hungarian IBD Study Group led by Dr Peter Laszlo Lakatos from the Semmelweis University investigated 340 well-characterized, unrelated, consecutive CD patients (M/F: 155/185, duration: 9.4 ± 7.5 years) with a complete clinical follow-up. Medical records including disease phenotype according to the Montreal classification, extraintestinal manifestations, use of medications and surgical events were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were interviewed on their smoking habits at the time of diagnosis and during the regular follow-up visits.

They found that perianal disease, current smoking, prior steroid use, early azathioprine or azathioprine/biological therapy are predictors of disease behavior change in CD patients.

The new data with easily applicable clinical information as presented in the article may assist clinicians in practical decision-making or in choosing the treatment strategy for their CD patients.


Source:
Lai-Fu Li
World Journal of Gastroenterology

Labels: Crohn's disease

ecently, the number of patients with GERD has increased in Japan. However, there have been few reports about the pathological findings in the esophageal squamous epithelium, and there are differing opinions among pathologists about the findings considered characteristic of chronic reflux esophagitis.　

Dr. Daisuke Asaoka and his colleagues from Juntendo University (Japan) used a rat model of chronic acid-reflux esophagitis to explore the esophageal mucosal damage macroscopically and microscopically throughout the entire esophagus, including the upper esophagus close to the hypopharynx, and to investigate the protective effects of ecabet sodium (ES) on the esophageal mucosa. This was published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Their research revealed that epithelial thickening occurs at the same time as inflammatory cell infiltration in the middle to lower esophagus in chronic acid-reflux esophagitis. Furthermore, they demonstrated that inflammatory cells infiltrated the epithelium of the upper esophagus close to the hypopharynx, where there was no evidence of ulcers. These findings suggested that the reflux of gastric juice can extend to the upper esophagus close to the hypopharynx.

Moreover, the research also demonstrated that ES inhibited the epithelial thickening of the lower and middle esophagus, which suggested that ES may play a useful defensive role in the prevention of reflux esophagitis.


Source:
Lai-Fu Li
World Journal of Gastroenterology

Labels: esophagitis, GERD