Gastric cancer (GC) imposes a significant health burden around the globe despite its declining incidence. GC is often diagnosed in advanced stages and carries a poor prognosis. In depth understanding of molecular underpinnings of GC has lagged behind many other cancers of its magnitude, as a result our knowledge base for identifying germline susceptibility traits for risk and somatic drivers of progression (to identify novel therapeutic targets) is limited. A few germline (PLCE1) and somatic (ERBB2, ERBB3, PTEN, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, FGF, TP53, CDH1, and c-MET) alterations are emerging and some are being pursued in the clinic. Novel somatic gene targets, Arid1a, FAT4, and MLL/MLL3 are of interest. Clinically, variations in the therapeutic approaches for localized GC are evident by geographic regions. These are driven by preferences for the adjunctive strategies and the extent of surgery coupled with philosophical divides. However, there is a greater uniformity in approaches to metastatic cancer, an incurable condition. Having realized only modest successes, the momentum is building for carrying out more phase 3 comparative trials and some are using biomarker-based patient selection. Overall, rapid progress in biotechnology is improving our molecular understanding and can help with new drug discovery. The future prospects are excellent for defining biomarker-based subsets of patients and application of specific therapeutics. However, many challenges remain to be tackled. Here we review representative molecular and clinical dimensions of GC.

Cancer stem cells are proposed to initiate and maintain tumor growth. Deregulation of normal stem cell signaling may lead to the generation of cancer stem cells (CSCs); however, the molecular determinants of this process remain poorly understood. Here we show that the transcriptional co-activator YAP1 is a major determinant of CSC properties in non-transformed cells and in esophageal cancer cells by direct upregulation of SOX9. YAP1 regulates the transcription of SOX9 through a conserved TEAD binding site in the SOX9 promoter. Expression of exogenous YAP1 in vitro or inhibition of its upstream negative regulators in vivo results in elevated SOX9 expression accompanied by the acquisition of CSCs properties. Conversely, shRNA-mediated knockdown of YAP1 or SOX9 in transformed cells attenuates CSC phenotypes in vitro and tumorigenecity in vivo. The small molecule inhibitor of YAP1, Verteporfin (VP) significantly blocks CSCs properties in cells with high YAP1 and a high proportion of ALDH1+. Our findings identify YAP1 driven SOX9 expression is a critical event in acquisition of CSC properties, suggesting that YAP1 inhibition may offer an effective means of therapeutically targeting the CSC population.

Purpose: Operable thoracic esophageal/gastroesophageal junction carcinoma (EC) is often treated with chemoradiation and surgery but tumor responses are unpredictable and heterogeneous. We hypothesized that aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH-1) could be associated with response. Methods: The labeling indices (LIs) of ALDH-1 by immunohistochemistry in untreated tumor specimens were established in EC patients who had chemoradiation and surgery. Univariate logistic regression and 3-fold cross validation were carried out for the training (67% of patients) and validation (33%) sets. Non-clinical experiments in EC cells were performed to generate complimentary data. Results: Of 167 EC patients analyzed, 40 (24%) had a pathologic complete response (pathCR) and 27 (16%) had an extremely resistant (exCRTR) cancer. The median ALDH-1 LI was 0.2 (range, 0.01 to 0.85). There was a significant association between pathCR and low ALDH-1 LI (p=<0.001; odds-ratio [OR]=0.432). The 3-fold cross validation led to a concordance index (C-index) of 0.798 for the fitted model. There was a significant association between exCRTR and high ALDH-1 LI (p=<0.001; OR=3.782). The 3-fold cross validation led to the C-index of 0.960 for the fitted model. In several cell lines, higher ALDH-1 LIs correlated with resistant/aggressive phenotype. Cells with induced chemotherapy resistance upregulated ALDH-1 and resistance conferring genes (SOX9 and YAP1). Sorted ALDH-1+ cells were more resistant and had an aggressive phenotype in tumor spheres than ALDH-1− cells. Conclusions: Our clinical and non-clinical data demonstrate that ALDH-1 LIs are predictive of response to therapy and further research could lead to individualized therapeutic strategies and novel therapeutic targets for EC patients.

A B S T R A C T PurposeThe primary purpose of surveillance of patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and/or esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma after local therapy (eg, chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery or trimodality therapy [TMT]) is to implement a potentially beneficial salvage therapy to overcome possible morbidity/mortality caused by locoregional failure (LRF). However, the benefits of surveillance are not well understood. We report on LRFs and salvage strategies in a large cohort. Patients and MethodsBetween 2000 and 2010, 518 patients with EAC who completed TMT were analyzed for the frequency of LRF over time and salvage therapy outcomes. Standard statistical techniques were used. ResultsFor 518 patients, the median follow-up time was 29.3 months (range, 1 to 149 months). Distant metastases (with or without LRF) occurred in 188 patients (36%), and LRF only occurred in 27 patients (5%). Eleven of 27 patients had lumen-only LRF. Most LRFs (89%) occurred within 36 months of surgery. Twelve patients had salvage chemoradiotherapy, but only five survived more than 2 years. Four patients needed salvage surgery, and three who survived more than 2 years developed distant metastases. The median overall survival of 27 patients with LRF was 17 months, and 10 patients (37%) survived more than 2 years. Thus, only 2% of all 518 patients benefited from surveillance/salvage strategies. ConclusionOur surveillance strategy, which is representative of many others currently being used, raises doubts about its effectiveness and benefits (along with concerns regarding types and times of studies and costs implications) to patients with EAC who have LRF only after TMT. Fortunately, LRFs are rare after TMT, but the salvage strategies are not highly beneficial. Our data can help develop an evidence-based surveillance strategy.

Purpose Patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC) who are treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (bimodality therapy [BMT]) experience frequent relapses. In a large cohort, we assessed the timing, frequency, and types of relapses during an aggressive surveillance program and the value of the salvage strategies. Patients and Methods Patients with EC (N = 276) who received BMT were analyzed. Patients who had surgery within 6 months of chemoradiotherapy were excluded to reduce bias. We focused on local relapse (LR) and distant metastases (DM) and the salvage treatment of patients with LR only. Standard statistical methods were applied. Results The median follow-up time was 54.3 months (95% CI, 48.4 to 62.4). First relapses included LR only in 23.2% (n = 64), DM with or without LR in 43.5% (n = 120), and no relapses in 33.3% (n = 92) of patients. Final relapses included no relapses in 33.3%, LR only in 14.5%, DM only in 15.9%, and DM plus LR in 36.2% of patients. Ninety-one percent of LRs occurred within 2 years and 98% occurred within 3 years of BMT. Twenty-three (36%) of 64 patients with LR only underwent salvage surgery, and their median overall survival was 58.6 months (95% CI, 28.8 to not reached) compared with those patients with LR only who were unable to undergo surgery (9.5 months; 95% CI, 7.8 to 13.3). Conclusion Unlike in patients undergoing trimodality therapy, for whom surveillance/salvage treatment plays a lesser role, 1 in the BMT population, approximately 8% of all patients (or 36% of patients with LR only) with LRs occurring more than 6 months after chemoradiotherapy can undergo salvage treatment, and their survival is excellent. Our data support vigilant surveillance, at least in the first 24 months after chemotherapy, in these patients.