Cleveland Clinic doctors link esophageal cancer to genes

(Credit: istockphoto)

What causes cancer of the esophagus? Drinking alcohol and smoking are often blamed, along with acid reflux, but scientists at the Cleveland Clinic suggests that some cases of the disease may have a hereditary basis.
They identified mutant genes in patients with a form of esophageal cancer known as esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and a precancerous condition called Barrett's esophagus. Currently, esophageal cancer isn't diagnosed until its late stages, when radiation, chemotherapy, and other forms of treatment are unlikely to be effective. Rad more on cbs news..