Toll-like receptors in esophageal cancer.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma are cancers of high mortality. EAC develops through Barrett's esophagus (BE) and columnar dysplasia, preceded by gastro-esophageal reflux disease. The risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is increased by smoking and alcohol consumption. New treatment options for esophageal cancer are desperately needed. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a central role in mammalian immunity and cancer. TLRs are activated by microbial components, such as lipopolysaccharide, flagellin, DNA, and RNA, as well as endogenous ligands, including heat-shock proteins and endogenous DNA. This review summarizes the studies on TLRs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and EAC. It has been shown that TLRs 1-10 are expressed in the normal esophagus. In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, TLRs3, 4, 7, and 9 have been studied, showing associations to aggressive disease properties. In BE and EAC, only TLRs4, 5, and 9 have been studied. In the review, we discuss the implications of TLRs in esophageal cancer.
Department of Pathology, University of Oulu , Oulu , Finland ; Department of Surgery, University of Oulu , Oulu , Finland ; Medical Research Center Oulu , Oulu , Finland ; Oulu University Hospital , Oulu , Finland.
Joonas H
JH
Kauppila
Department of Hematology-Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, AL , USA ; Department of Pathology, Lapland Central Hospital , Rovaniemi , Finland.
Katri S
KS
Selander
Toll-like receptors; esophageal adenocarcinoma; esophageal cancer; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; microbiome