Because patients with Barrett’s esophagus are at risk of developing esophageal cancer, they undergo regular screenings. The standard is four biopsies for each 2 cm of affected tissue. Because the biopsies are random, it’s possible to miss areas.
In order to refine this method, researchers identified tissue areas of concern by looking at sugar molecules. The researchers found that as the condition progressed from Barrett’s to high-grade dysplasia to esophageal cancer, a pattern of gene-expression changes in the genes that code for sugar molecules developed.
Researchers used fluorescently labeled lectins, which bind to the sugar molecules, to watch for the structure change that occurs when the esophageal cells begin to turn cancerous. Where the lectin binds to sugar molecules in healthy tissue, the tissue looks green. Where there is less lectin binding in cancerous tissue, the area looks purple.
The method is still in early stages, having only been tested on four surgically removed esophageal specimens, but the changes were visible by the naked eye.
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