Over the past few years, a wealth of new insights have been gained and put to use in basic gastrointestinal tumor research, including tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, cell-cycle con- trol, apoptosis, adhesion receptors, signal transduction, and gene therapy. Similarly, progress has been made in preven- tion, molecular diagnosis, laparoscopic staging, and antibody- based immunotherapy, and new drugs such as thyrnidylate and topoisomerase I inhibitors have been developed espe- cially for the treatment of colorectal carcinoma. Despite this burgeoning of knowledge in both basic and clinical research, however, we have just begun to put these results into clinical practice. Therefore, the key goal of this volume is to bring together basic and clinical research findings so as to facilitate the translation of these advances into the clinical manage- ment of gastrointestinal tumors. We hope that this volume, which covers a broad spectrum of research and clinical medicine, will impart new insights and greater understanding to all those interested in the therapy of gastrointestinal tumors and will stimulate further scientific research. Berlin, January 1996 E. D. Kreuser P. M. Schlag Contents 1 I. Basic Research S. J. Meltzer The Molecular Biology of Esophageal Carcinoma 1 E. R. Greenberg Preventing Colorectal Cancer...9 M. Streit, R. Schmidt, R. U. Hi/genfeld, E. Thiel, and E. -D. Kreuser Adhesion Receptors in Malignant Transformation and Dissemination of Gastrointestinal Tumors...19 R. Kaiser, E. Thiel, and E. -D. Kreuser Human Gene Therapy in Gastrointestinal Diseases: In Vivo and In Vitro Approaches ...