According to a new study led by Dr. Gary Stoner, black raspberries may be effective against preventing the development of esophageal tumors.

Stoner and his team found that black raspberry powder, when fed to tumor-induced rats, inhibited cancerous cell production in the esophagus, oral cavity and colon. The powder also had the ability to prevent the conversion of precancerous cells to cancerous ones.

According to Dr. Stoner, preliminary results in humans suggest that black raspberries can prevent pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth, esophagus and colon from turning into cancerous lesions.

However, there has been no benefit seen once a cancerous tumor is already developed.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center report that people with acid reflux disease, particularly those with Barrett's esophagus, have changed cells in their esophagus containing shortened telomeres. Telomeres are the ending sequences in DNA. This report along with other studies suggests that these shortened telomeres might allow cells more prone to cancer to take hold.

With acid reflux, acid splashes from the stomach up into the esophagus. Over time, this acid can cause normal cells in the esophagus, which are like skin, to change into tougher, acid-resistant cells like those found in the stomach and intestine, a condition called Barrett's esophagus. These acid-resistant cells are more prone to cancer.

According to Dr. Stuart Spechler, once the telomeres in the normal esophageal cells get too short, they can't regenerate themselves and then the change to these acid-resistant cells can take place.

Researchers now report that surgery plus either preoperative chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma does show a survival benefit.

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy resulted in a 19% reduction in mortality risk, with a greater survival benefit in patients with adenocarcinoma rather than SCC. Preoperative chemotherapy resulted in a 10% reduction in mortality risk, with this benefit seen only in patients with adenocarcinoma. These results come from a large meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Previous studies had shown that preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy did not show a survival benefit. However, many of these studies were small. Most oncologists no longer treat esophageal cancer with only surgery, due to recent trials. This study strengthens that conclusion.

This study was published in Lancet Oncology in March 2007.

We've all probably had acid reflux, otherwise known as "heartburn," from time to time, perhaps after eating too much or eating certain types of food. However, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a serious, chronic disease for some individuals, and overeating is not the only cause.

According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House of the NIH, the causes of GERD remain unclear. Research shows that in individuals with GERD, the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes while the rest of the esophagus is working. In addition, anatomical abnormalities such as a hiatal hernia may also contribute and such hernias can occur at any age.

Other factors that may contribute are obesity, pregnancy, smoking and certain foods.

Chronic GERD that goes without treatment can cause serious complications such as damage, bleeding or ulcers on the lining of the esophagus or narrowing of the esophagus. Some people can develop Barrett's esophagus, in which the cells in the esophageal lining change and can eventually turn into esophageal cancer, which is usually fatal.

You do not need to have classic "heartburn" symptoms to have GERD; other symptoms include a dry cough, asthma symptoms or trouble swallowing. If you have been using antacids for more than two weeks, it's time to see a doctor.

Acid reflux is real and treatable. If you or someone you love experiences chronic heartburn, make sure you see your physician or a gastroenterologist for treatment.

The number of lymph nodes that contain evidence of cancer is the best predictor of the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation prior to surgery for individuals with esophageal cancer, according to a new study from St. James' Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. The authors say this is a very important finding as the previous focus in response studies have been on the primary tumor.

Multimodal neoadjuvant therapy -- where patients are given cycles of drugs and radiation prior to surgery -- is increasingly being used as a way to increase survival rates in patients with esophageal cancer.

Dick Stienmier, a pathologist, writes about his experience with esophageal cancer in July's issue of The Swallow Tales, the newsletter of the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association. He tells of making his own preliminary diagnosis quite early, after only two mild episodes of difficulty swallowing. After consultations with various oncologists, a plan was set for neoadjuvent therapy to take place in a week's time, followed by surgery.

So what did Stienmier do now? Did he launch into research and study all of the details of the treatments including the surgery, drugs and radiation?

Nope! He went to Florida for the week with his wife, children and grandchildren. They visited Discovery Cove and he even kissed a dolphin at his grandchildren's insistence!

Stienmier explains:

Did I waste valuable time by not obsessing over investigating every source I could find and then trying to design my own therapy? I don't think so at all. Even as a pathologist, I did not think I could propose and design a better course of therapy than the experts I "hired". I let them take care of my medical treatment, while I took care of equally important issues -- strengthening and enjoying my human bonds with my descendents. If my luck with my disease had not been as good as it has been, I still would feel that I could not have spent my precious time in any better way. I hope this may give you something to think about. Kiss the dolphins!

At a meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine in Washington in early June, German scientists reported that imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) can show esophageal cancer patients' responses to chemotherapy.

"This is the first study to apply PET results from early metabolic response assessment to clinical decision making in the treatment of common solid tumors, said Ken Herrmann of the Technical University in Munich, Germany. "The outcome for metabolic responders turned out to be remarkably favorable compared to metabolic non-responders."

According to Herrmann, the results can help select patients who are benefiting from chemotherapy and "circumvent the adminstration of inefficient chemotherapy to patients with no metabolic response."

In late May, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announced updates to two NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) -- Esophageal Cancer and Gastric Cancer.

The panel added oral fluoropyrimidine, Capecitabine (Xeloda(R), Roche) as an option for treatment of esophageal and gastric cancer due to favorable Phase III trials. The panel also states that capecitabine may replace 5-FU and oxaliplatin may replace cisplatin in triplet regimens for advanced esophageal and gastric cancer.

Additional updates and the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) are available at www.nccn.org free of charge.

In The Swallow Tales, the newsletter of the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association, Roger Tunsley relates an experience he had upon first meeting his surgeon prior to his esophagectomy. The surgeon's first words to Tunsley were, "Do not Google this disease."

Tunsley offers a few tips for reading information on the internet, specifically regarding esophageal cancer. Tunsley writes, "You can't believe everything you read, especially on the web. Read critically. Statistics are heavily influenced by the date that they were published. Everyone's EC experience are very different."

Good advice for anyone doing an internet search on health issues, including cancer.

I would add, know yourself. If you don't think that you are going to be able to handle information after something like a general Google search which is going to pop up anything and everything, find another way to get the information. Of course, your physician should be your primary source of information regarding your specific case.

For more on esophageal cancer on the internet, a good place to start is the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Network's "Finding Help" page.