Aim-To identify the possible role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), in Chinese patients, in the pathogenesis of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods-Formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded tissues from 74 cases of oesophagealsquamous cellcarcinoma (28 with well differentiated, 27 with moderately differentiated and 18 with poorly differentiated carcinomas) were analysed for EBV using in situ hy...

Several oesophageal diseases due to tuberculosis such as fistula [1, 2, 3], ulcer [4] and perforation [5] have been published in the literature, but very few studies have been published on lung tuberculosis associated with oesophageal carcinoma, which represents an uncommon therapeutic challenge. Between 1988–2000, 14 patients with unior bilateral lung tubeculosis and associated middle-, uppero...

Dietary lignans, quercetin and resveratrol have oestrogenic properties, and animal studies suggest that they synergistically decrease cancer risk. A protective effect of lignans on the development of oesophageal cancer in humans has recently been demonstrated, and the present study aimed to test whether these three phytochemicals synergistically decrease the risk of oesophageal cancer. Data fro...

Background and aims: The increasing use of endoscopic resection for curative treatment of early oesophageal cancers requires accurate staging before therapy. In a prospective blinded trial, we compared staging of early oesophageal carcinoma using high resolution endoscopy (HR-E) with staging using high resolution endosonography (HR-EUS). Patients and methods: A total of 100 patients (89 men, 11...

BACKGROUND Randomized trials have shown that neoadjuvant treatment improves survival in the curative treatment of oesophageal and gastro-oesophageal junction cancer. Results from population-based observational studies are, however, sparse and ambiguous. METHODS This prospective population-based cohort study included all patients who had oesophagectomy for cancer in Sweden, excluding clinical ...

Forty-one specimens taken from lesions in the post-cricoid region of patients with the Paterson-Kelly syndrome have been examined. Most webs consist of normal oesophageal mucosa which may be associated with underlying muscle and nerve lesions. Strictures also show a chronic non-specific inflammation often with epithelial changes and sometimes squamous carcinoma. Other lesions observed clinicall...

Two patients with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy of unusual aetiology are described. The first patient developed the condition in association with oesophageal carcinoma and the second as a complication of active pulmonary tuberculosis. In the second case, substantial resorption of new bone was seen following treatment.

Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide, and the sixth most common cause of death from cancer. From a worldwide perspective, one of the most striking features of oesophageal cancer is the extreme geographic variation in incidence. At a global level, a 20-fold difference is seen in offi cial statistics between high-risk and low risk areas (1). This difference becomes even m...

Human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are expressed in a tissue-specific fashion in hepatic and extrahepatic tissues [Strassburg, Manns and Tukey (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 8719-8726]. Previous work suggests that these enzymes play a protective role in chemical carcinogenesis [Strassburg, Manns and Tukey (1997) Cancer Res. 57, 2979-2985]. In this study, UGT1 and UGT2 gene expression was inv...

Introduction Squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus is a common cancer among South Africans. Due to the absence of effective screening and surveillance programme for early detection and late presentation, squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage or when metastasis has already occurred. The 5-year survival is often quoted at 5%-10%, which is poor. ...