Sistema Gastrointestinal e Digestivo

Abstrato

Pathogenesis of Barrett s Esophagus

Haoxiang Zhang, Caifei Shen, Pu Wang, Ji Feng, Yin Xu, Jingwen Li, Anran Zhang, Yiju Xia, Wu Yan, D anchun Fang

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is characterized as histologic evidence of intestinal metaplasia is present in distal esophageal epithelium and is an important pathology because it is the major risk factor for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). It’s well known that chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) leads to the development of metaplasia. However, the cellular and molecular mechanism of the replacement of squamous esophageal epithelium with a columnar type is largely unknown. Efforts to understand the pathogenesis of BE and its disposition to EAC have been increasing over the previous 2 decades. This review aims to explore current data on the major risk factors, origin, genetic changes of BE, provide an insight into the molecular biomarkers related with BE and seek for possible development of therapies that could prevent BE from progressing to EAC.