Isoform switching events in Barrett's Esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma

Global isoform switching in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has not been previously characterized. This form of alternative splicing has recently been recognized as highly prevalent in multiple other cancers. In this study, isoform switch analysis was performed using next generation sequencing of RNA isolated from patient tissues across a continuum of histopathologies, ranging from low risk Barrett’s esophagus (BE) to BE with dysplasia and EAC. Patients were stratified based on histopathology. Isoform switching analysis was performed between two histopathology subtypes of Barrett's esophagus (BE), including BE with metaplasia or low-grade dysplaisa combined and referred to as BE.LGD (n = 25) and BE with high-grade dysplasia based on >40% HGD in the sample referred to as BE.HGD (n = 21). In addition, isoform switching analysis was performed between BE.LGD and BE.HGD+EAC.