Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract

2017 Edition
| Editors: Fátima Carneiro, Paula Chaves, Arzu Ensari

Adenocarcinoma, Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40560-5_1554
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Definition

The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined “adenocarcinoma” as “a malignant epithelial tumor with glandular differentiation” (WHO 2010). Esophageal adenocarcinomas arise primarily in the lower third of the esophagus from Barrett’s mucosa. Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper esophagus, mucosal, and submucosal glands can also give rise to adenocarcinomas of the esophagus. In the stomach, the most frequent site of “non-cardia” gastric cancer is the distal antro-pyloric region. In contrast to distal esophageal adenocarcinomas, there has been a steady decline in incidence of gastric (non-cardia) carcinoma over the last 15 years.

Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), and proximal stomach share many characteristics and risk factors. The incidence is increasing in high-resource countries; there is a high male:female ratio; and a higher incidence among whites and groups with higher socioeconomic status has been reported. In the last WHO...
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References and Further Reading

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Chella R. S. van der Post
    • 1
  • Fátima Carneiro
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of PathologyRadboud University Medical CenterNijmegenThe Netherlands
  2. 2.Faculty of Medicine of Porto University, Centro Hospitalar São João and Ipatimup/i3SPortoPortugal