title: Field defects in progression to gastrointestinal tract cancers.
abstract: A field of defective tissue may represent a pre-malignant stage in progression to many cancers. However, field defects are often overlooked in studies of cancer progression through assuming tissue at some distance from the cancer is normal. We indicate, however, the generality of field defects in gastrointestinal cancers, including cancers of the oropharynx, esophagus, stomach, bile duct, pancreas, small intestine and colon/rectum. Common features of these field defects are reduced apoptosis competence, aberrant proliferation and genomic instability. These features are often associated with high bile acid exposure and may explain the association of dietary-related factors with cancer progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, and Hematology/Oncology Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Tucson, AZ 85723, USA. bernstein3@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.forename: Harris
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.forename: Claire M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.forename: Harinder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garewal
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts