Oesophageal Cancer

Oesophageal cancer is relatively rare in the US and Europe, but is much more prevalent in China, India and Southern Africa where rates can be 10-100 fold higher than in the US. The incidence of oesophageal cancer in the US has increased by 350% since the mid 1970s and in the UK it is the fifth most common cause of cancer related death. The development of oesophageal cancer is difficult to detect, but commonly follows from a chronic inflammatory condition known as Barrett’s oesophagus. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 14,000 new cases of oesophageal cancer in 2004, with 13,000 deaths. The 5 year survival rate remains low due to the typically late stage of disease at diagnosis, but has risen from around 4% in the 1960s to over 10% today. Given its high mortality rate and increasing incidence, there is a clear need for the early detection of oesophageal cancer as it is a treatable and curable disease. Most cases currently are detected at an advanced stage when symptoms start to be manifested.

Proteome Sciences has identified a number of differentially expressed proteins in the tumours of patients with oesophageal cancer, and the related disease, Barrett’s oesophagus. As with the lung cancer markers, many of these tumour proteins cause the patient’s immune system to develop an antibody response, and the detection of these antibodies in the blood of patients with oesophageal cancer may provide an early diagnostic test.