OncoDaily Medical Journal will launch a Special Series on GastroIntestinal Oncology in 2026 to highlight emerging trends, evidence-based innovations, and pressing challenges in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The series is led by Yelena Janjigian, Chief of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Filippo Pietrantonio, Head of the GI Unit at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan. Accepted manuscripts will be fast-tracked for publication and prominently featured.
Gastrointestinal cancers remain a leading cause of global cancer mortality, with significant clinical and epidemiologic variation between regions. Advances in endoscopic technologies, molecular diagnostics, precision therapeutics, and minimally invasive surgery are reshaping care for esophageal and gastric cancers, gastroesophageal junction tumors, small bowel and duodenal cancers, biliary tract cancers, and select neuroendocrine tumors. Persistent challenges include late-stage presentation, limited screening programs, diagnostic delays, and unequal access to specialist care.
The Special Series will provide a comprehensive overview of disease burden, early detection opportunities, tumor biology, therapeutic innovations, and system-level strategies to improve outcomes and inform global clinical practice.
Focus areas include:
Epidemiology, screening and early detection. Papers should address global incidence trends, risk factors, barriers to early diagnosis, and opportunities to strengthen screening and diagnostic pathways, especially in high-incidence regions.
Healthcare system disparities and access to care. Submissions should examine how structural, socioeconomic, and geographic factors affect timely access to endoscopy, pathology, surgical oncology, systemic therapy, and supportive care across diverse health systems.
Tumor biology, molecular diagnostics and biomarker innovation. Topics include molecular profiling, genomic and epigenetic alterations, actionable targets such as HER2, FGFR2 and CLDN18.2, liquid biopsy applications, and hereditary predisposition in upper GI cancers.
Policy, implementation science and health system strengthening. Analyses should focus on national and regional cancer strategies, workforce development, care coordination, and implementation of high-value interventions to improve early diagnosis and treatment in varied resource settings.
Therapeutic advances, precision oncology and multidisciplinary care integration. Submissions should explore innovations in systemic therapies — including immunotherapy, targeted agents and biomarker-directed approaches — alongside advances in surgery, interventional endoscopy, radiation therapy and care models.
Technology, digital health and artificial intelligence in GI oncology. Work on AI-assisted endoscopy, advanced imaging, digital navigation tools, telemedicine and decision-support systems that enhance detection, staging, treatment planning or long-term care is encouraged.
Manuscripts will be evaluated on innovation, regional applicability and impact on practice or policy. Priority will be given to novel approaches that are adaptable across healthcare systems and demonstrate potential to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment access or patient outcomes.
Authors are encouraged to examine how demographic, socioeconomic and geographic factors influence upper GI cancer risk, detection and outcomes; to evaluate implementation of evidence-based interventions in underserved or underrepresented populations; and to submit comparative studies, meta-analyses or real-world evaluations that produce generalizable insights. Submissions that highlight scalable models to strengthen early detection pathways, multidisciplinary care structures and survivorship support are particularly welcome.
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