New Treatment for Gullet Cancer

Gullet cancer, perhaps better known as cancer of the esophagus, is a cancer of the cells lining the inside of your esophagus, the tube through which food travels from your mouth to your stomach. It's difficult to treat and is considered rarely curable with current therapies. Researchers are pursuing different approaches that many hope will lead to more effective treatments in the future.

Esophageal cancer

• Like all cancers, esophageal cancer is a disorder where mutant cells with damaged DNA proliferate out of control and, if left unchecked, invade other tissues of the body. Risk factors include heavy smoking and alcohol consumption. Difficulty in swallowing, weight loss, pain, hoarseness and coughing are all common symptoms of the disease.

Current treatment

• Unfortunately, esophageal cancer has a high mortality rate; the five-year survival rate is only 10 percent. The sooner the disease is detected, however, the better the odds of success. Typical treatment includes radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery. These treatments can sometimes lead to severe complications, including infection, bleeding and leakage after surgery.

Experimental approaches

• With gullet cancer as with other cancers, researchers are investigating various new methods that could eventually provide more effective treatments. Some researchers are studying the genetic factors that may predispose patients to esophageal cancer in hopes this information may yield new therapies. Other scientists are working with immunotherapy--treatments that boost the patient's immune system to attack the cancer cells--or targeted therapies that attack cells with specific mutations or targets.

Current clinical trials

• Many of the clinical trials for esophageal cancer are investigating different combinations of chemotherapy drugs that are already available to determine which is most effective. Some clinical trials are also studying targeted therapies. A couple ofexamples are sunitinib, a drug approved in 2006 to treat renal cell carcinoma that is now being tested against esophageal cancer and cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody previously approved to treat colorectal cancer and now being tested against esophageal cancer as well. For more information on current clinical trials, check the list of ongoing trials at clinicaltrials.gov.

Genetic factors

• Researchers have also made considerable progress in identifying genetic factors that predispose people to developing this disease. Mutations in the gene for the p53 protein and the MDM2 gene are both associated with a greatly increased risk of esophageal cancer. Scientists eventually hope to translate this information into improved treatments; for the time being, however, finding these and other biomarkers may help doctors to determine who is most at risk.