Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 28, 2024; 30(20): 2638-2656
Published online May 28, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i20.2638
Latest insights into the global epidemiological features, screening, early diagnosis and prognosis prediction of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Yi-Xin Zhao, He-Ping Zhao, Meng-Yao Zhao, Yan Yu, Xi Qi, Ji-Han Wang, Jing Lv
Yi-Xin Zhao, He-Ping Zhao, Meng-Yao Zhao, Yan Yu, Xi Qi, Jing Lv, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi Province, China
Ji-Han Wang, Institute of Medical Research, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Yi-Xin Zhao and He-Ping Zhao.
Author contributions: Zhao YX, Zhao MY, and Lv J searched and reviewed published articles, wrote and revised the manuscript; Zhao YX, Zhao HP, Zhao MY, Yu Y, Qi X, Wang JH, and Lv J critically reviewed and revised the manuscript; Zhao YX, Zhao HP, Qi X, and Lv J made substantial contributions to the conception and design of this study; Zhao YX and Zhao HP contributed equally to this work; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Xi’an Municipal Health Commission of China, No. 2022qn07 and No. 2023ms11.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing Lv, MD, Doctor, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Honghui Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 555 Youyi Dong Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi Province, China. lvjing-1219@163.com
Received: January 23, 2024
Revised: April 26, 2024
Accepted: May 13, 2024
Published online: May 28, 2024
Processing time: 125 Days and 7.3 Hours
Abstract

As a highly invasive carcinoma, esophageal cancer (EC) was the eighth most prevalent malignancy and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide in 2020. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the major histological subtype of EC, and its incidence and mortality rates are decreasing globally. Due to the lack of specific early symptoms, ESCC patients are usually diagnosed with advanced-stage disease with a poor prognosis, and the incidence and mortality rates are still high in many countries, especially in China. Therefore, enormous challenges still exist in the management of ESCC, and novel strategies are urgently needed to further decrease the incidence and mortality rates of ESCC. Although the key molecular mechanisms underlying ESCC pathogenesis have not been fully elucidated, certain promising biomarkers are being investigated to facilitate clinical decision-making. With the advent and advancement of high-throughput technologies, such as genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, valuable biomarkers with high sensitivity, specificity and stability could be identified for ESCC. Herein, we aimed to determine the epidemiological features of ESCC in different regions of the world, especially in China, and focused on novel molecular biomarkers associated with ESCC screening, early diagnosis and prognosis prediction.

Keywords: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Epidemiology; Diagnosis; Genomics; Proteomics; Metabolomics

Core Tip: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignancy with decreasing incidence and mortality rates worldwide; however, it was the eighth most prevalent cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death in 2020. Various molecular mechanisms have been suggested, and a better understanding of the epidemiology and characteristic biomarkers may facilitate ESCC screening, early diagnosis and prognosis prediction. This review aimed to discuss the epidemiological features, screening, early diagnosis and prognosis prediction of ESCC, with a focus on promising molecular biomarkers, to provide a guide for the development of novel strategies for ESCC patients.