Current status and future expectations in the management of gastrointestinal cancer
According to data from the Global Cancer Observatory, in 2018 there were 18,078,957 new cases diagnosed with cancer in the world. From these, colorectal, gastric and liver cancer are in 3rd and 6th places. It is expected that by 2030 there will be an incidence of 22 million cases annually. As we can see, gastrointestinal (GI) cancers have an important presence worldwide with important demographic differences depending on the features of the population, lifestyles, marginalization, socio-cultural level and economic resources of each country. Although we currently have more efficient diagnostic/therapeutic methods for the approach of cancer such as high-resolution endoscopy or radiological methods like computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT), in addition to an increased knowledge of cancer genetics by the identification of HER-2 expression in gastric adenocarcinoma or mutations of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF in colon cancer with the consequent improvement in therapeutic decisions, the picture is still discouraging since a recent study found that in high-income countries and in some upper-medium-income countries deaths from cancer in adults aged 35–70 years are now most common than cardiovascular diseases suggesting that we are currently going through a transition period in the predominant causes of deaths in middle-age people. In this sense, the understanding of the current status and the future expectation of GI cancer is an issue that all clinicians and surgeons must know and apply as a multidisciplinary team in order to offer the best options based on scientific evidence for the benefit of our patients.
In this series we have included some interesting topics such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cholangiocarcinoma, liver transplantation for HCC. The risk of colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The relationship between bile acids and GI cancer. Finally, two fascinating case reports are part of this series the first one is on hepatocellular adenoma and the second one about advanced pancreatic cancer. Investigators from China, Germany, Italy and Mexico have collaborated in this series with a great enthusiasm.
Acknowledgments
Funding: None.
Footnote
Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Digestive Medicine Research for the series “Current Status and Future Expectations in the Management of Gastrointestinal Cancer”. The article did not undergo external peer review.
Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/dmr-2020-gc-06). The series “Current Status and Future Expectations in the Management of Gastrointestinal Cancer” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. NMS served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series. The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
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Cite this article as: Méndez-Sánchez N. Current status and future expectations in the management of gastrointestinal cancer. Dig Med Res 2020;3:35.
