The median survival of oesophageal cancer this year is only 13 to 19 months after diagnosis and more than 90% will die from their disease. Therefore better treatment options are needed. The likelihood of cure for early screen-detected cancers is much higher. Barrett's oesophagus is a pre-cancerous lesion associated with a 30-40 fold increased risk of developing cancer. In an attempt to detect cancer early many patients with Barrett's are enrolled into surveillance programs involving regular endoscopies. A major problem with this approach is that the prevalence of BO in the population is estimated to be around 2%, but most patients with BO will never develop cancer. We are undertaking genomic and/or transcriptomic analysis of oesophageal tumours, Barrett's oesophagus and matched normal samples. The aim is to identify oesophageal-related genomic and transcriptomic alterations, which may reveal mutational process occurring, suggest biomarkers of tumour progression and treatment and identify novel treatment strategies.

The median survival of oesophageal cancer this year is only 13 to 19 months after diagnosis and more than 90% will die from their disease. Therefore better treatment options are needed. The likelihood of cure for early screen-detected cancers is much higher. Barrett's oesophagus is a pre-cancerous lesion associated with a 30-40 fold increased risk of developing cancer. In an attempt to detect cancer early many patients with Barrett's are enrolled into surveillance programs involving regular endoscopies. A major problem with this approach is that the prevalence of BO in the population is estimated to be around 2%, but most patients with BO will never develop cancer. We are undertaking genomic and/or transcriptomic analysis of oesophageal tumours, Barrett's oesophagus and matched normal samples. The aim is to identify oesophageal-related genomic and transcriptomic alterations, which may reveal mutational process occurring, suggest biomarkers of tumour progression and treatment and identify novel treatment strategies.

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