Foreword

Gastrointestinal cancers represent a heterogeneous group of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. These include cancers of the colon, rectum, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, anus, gallbladder, liver, and bile duct. There is an interplay of various non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors that foster the conversion of normal cells to precursor cells, precursor cells to premalignant cells, and premalignant cells to malignant cells. The non-modifiable risk factors are mostly genetic and aging, whereas some of the key modifiable risk factors are smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and obesity. The initial trigger by these risk factors may be specific for each cancer, but a shared feature among gastrointestinal cancers is increased mortality and morbidity due to late-stage detection, and poor survival following metastasis. Despite significant advances in our understanding of molecular pathogenesis and the development of targeted therapies, gastrointestinal cancers continue to be a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Gastrointestinal cancers are diverse in etiology and clinical management. The chapters of this book explore the clinically relevant aspects of this diversity under three broad categories: epidemiology and pathology, early diagnosis and prognosis, and surgical management. The etiological aspects focus on stomach cancer while the pathological aspects provide an overview of colorectal cancer, how primary colorectal cancer becomes metastatic through epithelial mesenchymal transition, and how macrophage-derived extracellular vesicles drive tumor development and enable the progression of most gastrointestinal cancers. CONTINUE READING…..