http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A series of microRNA expression signatures that may help to define progression of the precancerous condition Barrett's esophagus into esophageal adenocarcinoma was reported recently in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-biomarkers-barrett-esophagus-esophageal-adenocarcinoma.html Cancer Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:20:01 EST news281724446 According to a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, patients with Barrett's esophagus and early or pre-cancerous cells have been shown to significantly benefit from minimally invasive therapy delivered through an endoscope – a medical instrument used to look inside an organ or cavity in the body. Until recently, patients with these conditions were treated by surgery to remove the whole esophagus. Study results show that endoscope-based therapies have a high success rate; all of the damaged cells were removed in up to 95 percent of cases, greatly reducing the chances of cancer progression. Additionally, in over two-thirds of cases, patients had no biological signs of the return of disease for years. The study appears in the February issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-long-term-efficacy-minimally-invasive-therapy.html Cancer Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:09:44 EST news280591775 Patients with Type 2 Diabetes may face an increased risk for Barrett's Esophagus (BE), regardless of other risk factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), according to research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-diabetes-barrett-esophagus.html Diabetes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:28:14 EST news270116868 Statin use is associated with protection from esophagus cancer according to a new meta-analysis of existing clinical studies exploring the cancer prevention effects of statins presented by a Mayo Clinic researcher, Dr. Siddharth Singh, at the American College of Gastroenterology 77th Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas, NV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-esophagus-cancer-statins-esophageal.html Cancer Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:19:59 EST news270116391 A simple new test, in which the patient swallows a string, can monitor treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis as effectively as an invasive, expensive and uncomfortable procedure that risks complications, particularly in children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-simple-ease-esophagitis.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:02:41 EST news268498953 University of Utah engineers mapped white blood cells called eonsinophils and showed an existing diagnostic method may overlook an elusive digestive disorder that causes swelling in the esophagus and painful swallowing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-biopsies-overlook-esophagus-diseasestudy-reveals.html Immunology Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:39:21 EST news266168352 (Medical Xpress) -- As the American obesity epidemic has increased the past two decades, so has the rate of esophageal cancers. Clinician-scientists affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Institute say enhanced public awareness about how the disease develops and what can be done to prevent it might help reduce this trend.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-esophageal-cancer-danger-factors.html Cancer Tue, 07 Aug 2012 06:15:00 EST news263538895 Aspirin use appears to reduce the risk of Barrett's esophagus (BE), the largest known risk factor for esophageal cancer, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-aspirin-barrett-esophagus.html Cancer Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:31:36 EST news262265452 For many people with gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, acid reflux drugs are the answer to their woes, curbing the chronic heartburn and regurgitation of food or sour liquid characteristic of the disorder. But when it comes to Barrett's esophagus, a condition commonly found in people with GERD, acid control may be less important than beating back another bodily fluid – bile. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-bile-acid-bad-guy.html Surgery Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:21:14 EST news254485035 (HealthDay) -- Cigarette smoking may be a modifiable risk factor for Barrett's esophagus, according to a study published in the April issue of Gastroenterology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-factor-barrett-esophagus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:00:07 EST news253366333 (Medical Xpress) -- A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that the risk of patients with Barrett’s esophagus developing adenocarcinoma of the esophagus are not as high as once originally thought. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-esophageal-cancer-patients-barretts-esophagus.html Cancer Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:02:21 EST news237815744 Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a safe and effective option for the treatment of dysplastic Barrett's esophagus that attains lasting response, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Progression of disease, which can precede cancer, was rare in patients who underwent RFA treatment, and there was no procedure- or cancer-related mortality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-radiofrequency-ablation-safely-effectively-barrett.html Cancer Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:09:04 EST news232276099 Medically treated patients with mild or no symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are at higher risk for developing esophageal cancer than those with severe GERD symptoms, according to a University of Pittsburgh study published in the current issue of Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-esophageal-cancer-higher-medically-gerd.html Cancer Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:00:23 EST news230221276