Joana Carvalho

TL;DR: HGC syndrome may be best defined by mutations in CDH1 and closely related genes, rather than through clinical criteria that capture families with heterogeneous susceptibility profiles, providing more precise estimates of age-associated risks of gastric and breast cancer that will improve counseling of unaffected carriers.

TL;DR: The major properties of E- and P-cadherin molecules, its regulation in normal tissue, and their alterations and role in cancer are discussed, with a specific focus on gastric and breast cancer models.

TL;DR: Concerning E-cadherin-mediated signaling, it is proposed that HER receptors (as epidermal growth factor receptor) and Notch downstream targets are clinically relevant and should be considered in gastric cancer therapeutics and control.

TL;DR: Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer is the only gastric cancer syndrome with a proven inherited defect and a single gene has been found altered in this context – CDH1 – the E-cadherin encoding gene.

TL;DR: This chapter provides an overview of the major epigenetics mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and miRNA, and describes those epigenetic mechanisms that are altered in non-CDH1 associated familial gastric cancer.