to be found at:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/content/mrc003468.pdf
Wednesday 17 January 2007
Scientists have delved into the underlying structure of the cells that line the gullet and found a way to potentially prevent a type of cancer of the oesophagus. The scientists from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit are hoping their new found understanding of the cellular origin of the cause of oesophageal adenocarcinoma will help pave the way to new therapies which could even prevent the cancer developing.
Oesophageal adenocarcinoma is on the rise in the UK and throughout the western world, eight-fold in the last 30 years. It develops from pre-existing abnormalities in the lining of the oesophagus, a condition called Barrett’s oesophagus. This condition causes the scaly lining of the oesophagus to be replaced by a glandular lining, like that normally found in the stomach or intestine.
Up until now the nature and origin of the cell change which causes Barrett’s had not been known. Now, a team of scientists led by Dr Rebecca Fitzgerald has found that treating the normal scaly tissue with vitamin A provokes this change to the Barrett’s lining tissue.
Furthermore they have shown that this change occurs below the top layer of the cell and is still visible even when that layer is removed.
When the scientists later treated the altered tissue with vitamin A inhibitors, they found the cells reverted back to their previous state.
Dr Rebecca Fitzgerald said:
“We are very excited about these findings. Vitamin A inhibitors could allow us to reverse Barrett’s oesophagus which would prevent the lesions it provokes from causing oesophageal adenocarcinoma.”
“Until now it had been thought the changes to the cells in the oesophageal lining was limited to the top layer of those cells, the epithelium. This research shows that the change is actually more fundamental. This ties in with recent work in many cancer areas which suggests that we have neglected the cell environment for too long in our thinking about cancer.”
The findings are published in GUT and will be discussed at the Barrett’s Oseophagus National Symposium on Wednesday 17th January 2007.
