Future Perspectives of Gastric Cancer Treatment – From Bench to Bedside

tric Cancer Association, founded in 1995, contributes greatly to research into the carcinogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer; a congress on these issues was held recently, in 2011, in Seoul, Korea. Many scientific events on gastric cancer have been organized in these countries, such as the international symposium ‘Future Perspectives of Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment – From Bench to Bedside’ at the occasion of the 20th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Gastroenterological Carcinogenesis, the 17th Seoul International Cancer Symposium ‘Gastric Cancer Update 2010’, among others. In this issue of Pathobiology , distinguished experts in Asia review current topics and future perspectives of gastric cancer treatment in molecular pathology, tissue engineering, surgery and chemotherapy. Woo et al. present the biological significance of STAT3 activation in gastric cancer. They analyzed a large number of gastric cancer specimens on tissue arrays immunohistochemically using several antibodies including anti-phospho-Tyr705STAT3, an active form of STAT3. Nuclear STAT3 activation was an early event in carcinogenesis and significantly correlated with better prognosis, proliferation and HIF-1 activation in gastric cancer, suggesting that the nuclear pSTAT3 may serve as a valuable prognostic factor and therapeutic target in gastric carcinoma. Jang and Kim review the recent understanding of the molecular pathology of gastric cancer. Gastric cancer develops through multistep processes that begin with Helicobacter pylori -induced atrophic gastritis. Genetic and epigenetic Cancer, a chronic proliferative disease with multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations, develops as a result of an accumulation of various endogenous and exogenous causes. Recent advances in cancer research have uncovered the molecular mechanisms of the development and progression of the disease. Multiple alterations during carcinogenesis are found in tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, DNA repair genes, cell cycle regulators, cell adhesion molecules, growth factors/receptors, matrix metalloproteinases and other sites. Because of different but also common molecular bases, each cancer displays a different biological behavior and response to treatment. Recent focus has been on the presence of cancer stem cells in terms of chemoradiotherapy. Amongst 10 million people diagnosed with cancer in the world, the most common cancers are those of the lung, breast and stomach. However, there are marked regional differences in the organs that are affected. In eastern Asia including Japan, Korea and China, cancers of the stomach, lung, liver and esophagus are of major concern, although cancers of the breast and colorectum are also increasing. Mortality due to gastric cancer, one of the most common cancers worldwide, is second to lung cancer. The highest rates of gastric cancer occur in eastern Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. Of particular note, more than half of the gastric cancer in the world occurs in Japan, China and Korea. Advances in diagnosis and treatment have enabled us to offer excellent longterm survival for early cancer, but the prognosis for advanced cancer still remains poor. The International Gas-