Relationship between pathogenic microorganisms and the occurrence of esophageal carcinoma based on pathological type: a narrative review.

INTRODUCTION: Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The etiology of EC is complicated and increasing evidence has shown that microbial infection is closely related to the occurrence of various malignant tumors. Though many studies have been focused on this subject in recent years, the exact relationship between microbial infection and the occurrence of EC remains unclear. AREAS COVERED: In this review, we searched all eligible literature reports, summarized the most recent studies in this research field, and analyzed the pathogenic microorganisms associated with EC, providing the latest evidence and references for the prevention of pathogenic microorganism-related EC. EXPERT OPINION: In recent years, increasing evidence has shown that pathogenic microbial infections are closely associated with the development of EC. Therefore, it is necessary to describe in detail the relationship between microbial infection and EC and clarify its possible pathogenic mechanism, which will shed a light on clinical prevention and treatment of cancer caused by pathogenic microbial infection.

The Importance of Cancer Stem Cells in Gastrointestinal Cancers.

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are still an important cause of tumor-related deaths. Conventional therapeutic approaches like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are indispensable but insufficient. Despite the advances in immunotherapy and other conventional treatment strategies, some might argue that we are still far from curing cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) might be to blame. Because sequencing technologies are moving fast in this precision-medicine era, molecular testing of tumors, circulating tumor cells, and CSCs have important implications for treatment decisions. Biomarkers offer prognostic values and targeted therapy availabilities as molecular predictive factors. CSCs are considered biomarkers of tumorigenesis development, metastasis, and recurrence. In this review, we summarize the important issues over CSCs and the development of new drugs that target GI CSCs.