Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 14, 2025; 31(10): 101838
Published online Mar 14, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i10.101838
Catching cancer signals in the blood: Innovative pathways for early esophageal cancer diagnosis
Yue Zhao, Zhan Zhang, Jian-Hao Qiu, Rong-Yang Li, Zhen-Guo Sun
Yue Zhao, Zhan Zhang, Rong-Yang Li, Zhen-Guo Sun, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250063, Shandong Province, China
Jian-Hao Qiu, Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan 250063, Shandong Province, China
Co-first authors: Yue Zhao and Zhan Zhang.
Author contributions: Zhao Y and Zhan Z developed the main concept, structure and writing of the manuscript; Qiu JH and Li RY contributed to interpretation and final approval of the manuscript; Sun ZG engaged in the discussion, administrative support and final approval of the manuscript; all the authors were involved in writing, editing, creating illustrations, and reviewing the literature, read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by The National Key R and D Program of China, No. 2021YFC2500904, No. 2021YFC2500905 and No. 2021YFC2500900; Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, No. ZR2023MH130 and No. ZR2017BH035; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, No. 2020M672073; and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81802397.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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: Zhen-Guo Sun, Doctor, Associate Professor, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No. 107 Wenhua West Road, Jinan 250063, Shandong Province, China. sunzg@sdu.edu.cn
Received: September 28, 2024
Revised: January 23, 2025
Accepted: February 5, 2025
Published online: March 14, 2025
Processing time: 150 Days and 23.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This editorial highlights advancements in the use of DNA methylation as a noninvasive biomarker for the early detection of esophageal cancer (EC). This study combines the methylation markers SHOX2, SEPTIN9, EPO, and RNF180 to improve diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, the editorial discusses the roles of these markers in predicting recurrence and monitoring treatment efficacy, underscoring the promise of liquid biopsy technology in enhancing precision diagnosis and patient management in patients with EC.