Chen Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2024

The role of type 2 inflammation in the initiation and progression of metaplastic differentiation and neoplastic transformation of gastric epithelia

Chronic inflammatory damage in the stomach can lead to metaplastic differentiation of epithelial lineages and eventual development of gastric (stomach) cancer (GC). Gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) accounts for most GC cases. The etiology of GA has been described as a histopathological progression from atrophic gastritis, metaplasia, dysplasia to adenocarcinoma. Gastric metaplasia includes Spasmolytic Polypeptide-Expressing Metaplasia (SPEM), which is associated with human GA as a pre-neoplasia. Extensive studies have established H. pylori as a major environmental risk factor for GC and ~1% of infected cases are linked to GC. The role of host factors for GC are also indicated by accumulating…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.