Novel Molecular Targets in Malignant Diseases of Digestive System

Digestive malignancies remain one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide despite the fact that increasing clinical and biological knowledge has emerged. Among all the newly discovered cancer cases, colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and esophagus cancer rank in the front and the mortality rate for them also tops the list. The poor prognosis of digestive tumors is partially due to late diagnosis, delayed initiation of treatment, and unsatisfactory reaction to cancer therapies. Many molecular markers have been discovered for early diagnosis and better therapeutic outcomes from which we do benefit a lot. However, diagnosis and treatment of alimentary cancers require further optimization. We believe further study of novel molecular targets for early detection and better treatment would be helpful to reduce mortality rate and to improve the prognosis of malignant diseases of digestive system.