Genetic differences between adenocarcinomas arising in Barrett's esophagus and gastric mucosa.

Overview

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Barrett adenocarcinoma (BA+) and gastric adenocarcinoma comprise a related group of neoplasms that nevertheless have some distinct clinicopathologic characteristics. This study aimed at defining critical molecular abnormalities that may underlie differences between BA+ and gastric adenocarcinomas. METHODS: We used comparative genomic hybridization for the analyses of 34 xenografts of adenocarcinomas that arose from esophageal or gastric origin. RESULTS: All tumors, except one, exhibited DNA copy number alterations. Losses in 4q and 14q and gains at 2p and 17q were more frequent in proximal (esophageal, gastroesophageal junction [GEJ], and cardia) tumors than in distal (body and antrum) tumors (P