title: Molecular medicine of gastric adenocarcinomas.
abstract: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract malignancies, including carcinomas of the esophagus, the GI junction and the stomach, are among the most common cancers worldwide. Overall survival is poor because many patients present with locally advanced and often incurable disease. This review focuses on the pathogenesis of adenocarcinomas of the stomach. It summarises recent findings on genetic predisposition to gastric cancer, in particular in relation to germline mutations in the E-cadherin gene. It also describes the molecular basis of sporadic gastric cancer, including alterations in oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes and growth factors, and discusses how these findings might be used in the clinic for improved diagnosis and therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Trogerstr. 18, 81675 München, Germany. gisela.keller@lrz.tum.de
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Höfler
authors.forename: Karl-Friedrich
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery