Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2025

Development of Compendium for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 12, 2024
Circulating Inflammation Biomarkers and the Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A Nested Case-Control Study in the
Omonefe O Omofuma1, Jennifer A Rusiecki2, Jessica L Petrick3
1Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland.
Background:
We previously identified associations of esophageal adenocarcinoma risk with four inflammation-related candidate biomarkers: TNF receptor 2 (TNFR2), IL17A, VEGFR3, and resistin.
Methods:
We aimed to replicate these candidates and discover novel associations with additional proteins. We conducted a nested case-control study of men with prediagnostic biospecimens stored at the US Department of Defense Serum Repository, including 203 incident esophageal adenocarcinoma cases. Controls were matched to cases in a ∼2:1 ratio by date of birth, race, service branch, and blood draw date. Multiplex immunoassays (Olink/Proseek panels) measured 254 proteins detected in ≥10% of all samples. Multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression models calculated associations between biomarker quantiles and esophageal adenocarcinoma. P values (<0.05) were used to indicate the statistical significance of candidates, and FDR was applied to the additional proteins. ORs from the current analysis and those from previous studies were combined for the candidate markers using fixed-effects meta-analysis.
Results:
Among the four candidates, the highest category of TNFR2 was associated with significantly increased esophageal adenocarcinoma risk (ORQ4 vs. Q1 = 1.87; 95% confidence interval: 1.02-3.42). In the meta-analysis, associations with esophageal adenocarcinoma were positive for TNFR2 (meta-analyzed ORhighest-vs.-lowest = 2.04; 1.12-2.95) and inverse for IL17A (meta-analyzed ORhighest-vs.-lowest = 0.53; 0.26-0.80). Of the additional 250 proteins, 45 were associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma risk and 6 (monocyte chemotactic protein 3, IL6, TNFR1, hepatocyte growth factor, TFF3, and FURIN) remained significant after FDR correction.
Conclusions:
We confirmed associations of TNFR2 and IL17A with esophageal adenocarcinoma risk. Additionally, our study expands the range of proteins associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma development.
Impact:
This is the largest assessment to discover novel associations of inflammation-related proteins with esophageal adenocarcinoma to date.
More Related Videos
10:42Subculture and Cryopreservation of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Organoids: Pros and Cons for Single Cell Digestion
Published on: July 6, 2022
10:21Author Spotlight: Exploring the Role of Inflammation in the Co-occurrence of Primary Sjogren's Syndrome and Lung Adenocarcinoma
Published on: September 20, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Barrett Esophagus-I: Introduction
This constant acid exposure transforms the esophagus's pink mucosal lining (stratified squamous epithelium) into a type of lining more...
Barrett Esophagus-II: Clinical Manifestations and Management
To diagnose Barrett's esophagus, healthcare providers often recommend an endoscopy for those showing symptoms of acid reflux. The procedure...
Esophageal Strictures-I: Introduction
Etiology
The primary cause of esophageal strictures is long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), accounting for about 70 to 80% of adult cases. Chronic acid reflux can lead to injury and scarring of the esophageal lining, culminating in...
Role of Ephrin-Eph Signalling in Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal