Alejandro Corvalan

By Alejandro H. Corvalán, Gonzalo Carrasco and Wilda Olivares

Part of the book: Gastritis and Gastric Cancer

By Alejandra Alarcón, Ursula Figueroa, Bastian Espinoza, Alejandra Sandoval, Gonzalo Carrasco-Aviño, Francisco R. Aguayo and Alejandro H. Corvalan

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been associated with different malignancies, and compelling evidence has shown that it may have a causative or at least contributing role in gastric carcinogenesis. EBV-associated gastric cancers have a unique molecular signature, which has defined this group of tumors as a distinctive molecular subtype of gastric cancer. This subtype has shown a greater incidence in the Americas than in the Asian countries. This chapter discusses about possible factors underlying these differences and the emerging roles of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of Epstein-Barr virus–associated gastric cancer.

Part of the book: Gastric Cancer

By Pablo M. Santoro, Alejandra Sandoval-Bórquez and Alejandro H. Corvalan

Noncoding genomics, i.e., microRNAs and long coding RNAs (lncRNA), is an emerging topic in gastrointestinal tumors. In particular, the coordinate deregulation of miRNA-335-5p across these tumors and its potential clinical applications is an example of this scenario. This chapter discusses the pathogenetic role of miRNA-335-5p in esophageal, gastric, colon, liver, gallbladder, and pancreatic tumors. This pathogenetic role is examined in the context of the competing endogenous network, the language through lncRNA that reduce the quantity of miRNA available to target mRNA. The translational application of miRNA-335-5p, through the aberrant methylation of the promoter region of MEST—its host gene—as a potential biomarker for noninvasive detection of gastric cancer, is also discussed.

Part of the book: Non-Coding RNAs