BEACON Consortium

In 2005, an international group of investigators with completed or ongoing epidemiologic studies of esophageal adenocarcinoma and/or Barrett’s esophagus formed BEACON (Barrett's and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium) as an open scientific forum for research into the etiology and prevention of these diseases. Members develop and evaluate proposals for projects that pool data across sites and/or create new data through collaborative laboratory- or clinic-based studies.

While annual meetings are no longer held, manuscripts and grant applications based on member studies are still being developed. Genotyping results from the BEACON GWAS are available at dbGaP.

BEACON-Brisbane-2011-Group-1024x437-1024x437
BEACON members meeting in Brisbane, AUS

New Grants

Drs. Charles Kooperberg (Fred Hutch Cancer Center) and Matthew Buas (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) were recently awarded a BEACON-based grant from NCI to identify new genetic and epigenetic loci underlying susceptibility and develop prediction models for EAC:

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the most lethal cancers, with a 5-year survival rate less than 20%. Incidence of EAC has risen sharply in the U.S. and other Western countries over the past four decades, largely due to rising prevalence of two risk factors – gastroesophageal reflux disease and obesity. EAC develops from Barrett’s esophagus (BE), a cancer precursor defined by a specialized columnar metaplasia of the distal esophagus. Although BE follows an indolent course in most patients, 5-10% eventually progress to cancer, and a sizable fraction of BE remain undetected in the population. A critical unmet need is to identify individuals with high-risk BE who are most likely to develop EAC and thus benefit from screening and endoscopic surveillance. Conversely, identifying the majority who are unlikely to progress will reduce risks and costs associated with unnecessarily frequent surveillance. Biomarker-assisted risk stratification, however, continues to be hindered by our limited understanding of the molecular pathways underlying early steps in the development of EAC. In recent years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified ~20 novel genetic susceptibility loci, yet most heritability remains unexplained, and only one SNP is linked specifically to BE→EAC progression. The epigenome, an important interface between the environment and the genome, has not been studied for its potential mediating roles in relation to genotypes, strong environmental risk factors and progression to EAC. To address these gaps, overcome sample size limitations for a rare cancer, and invigorate existing research efforts, newer molecular and statistical approaches are needed to systematically integrate multi-omics data with established disease exposures. In this project we will conduct the most comprehensive multi-omics study of BE, the key cancer precursor, profiling the transcriptome and methylome of 500 biopsies from the NCI-funded Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and perform integrative analyses leveraging genotypes and environmental risk factors already available through the largest GWAS meta-analysis for BE/EAC (n≈27,000). The goal is to identify new genetic risk loci through eQTL mapping and transcriptome-wide association study (Aim 1), new epigenetic loci mediating and predicting the risk of BE progression to EAC (Aim 2), and develop risk prediction models integrating genome-wide polygenic risk score and environmental exposures (Aim 3). The unifying theme of the three aims is development and implementation of innovative analytical strategies, leveraging transcriptome and methylome data. Ultimately, genetics, epigenetics, and environmental exposures will be incorporated to identify high-risk populations for tailored screening and surveillance, and prevent cancer development.

Dr. Matt Buas (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) and colleagues were awarded a multi-million dollar grant from NIDDK to study the genes and biological pathways that mediate inherited genetic susceptibility to Barrett's esophagus using (in part) resources from BEACON. The project's abstract is below:

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is the only known precursor for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a highly lethal cancer with rising incidence and median survival <1 year. Substantial health-care resources are devoted to BE screening, surveillance, and treatment. Gastroesophageal reflux-induced injury of the lower esophagus and chronic inflammation are key drivers of BE development, but molecular pathways underlying risk are not well defined. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) led by members of our team identified >20 novel genetic susceptibility loci for BE/EAC, providing new insights into the inherited genetic component of risk. Nevertheless, little progress has been made in bridging associations to biology. Consistent with GWAS of other complex diseases, all BE index variants map to non-coding regions, lack obvious biologic function, and are in linkage disequlibrium with many other SNPs, any of which may be causal. The vast majority of functional variants underlying GWAS signals are believed to map to and alter activity of regulatory elements including enhancers, in an allele-specific manner, and in turn modulate expression of downstream genes involved in risk. Importantly, such regulatory effects may be tissue- and condition-specific. To begin prioritizing candidate functional variants for experimental interrogation, we developed a customized informatics scoring pipeline using comprehensive in-silico annotations from multiple public resources. We selected four high-scoring BE risk loci for evaluation using luciferase reporter assays in esophageal cell lines, and found that two of four regions exhibited allele-specific enhancer activity. CRISPR-mediated deletion of the enhancer region at both loci correlated with downregulation of several candidate risk genes. Motivated by these successes, we seek to expand our integrative framework for elucidating functional consequences of BE-related genetic variation. We hypothesize that such variation is biologically expressed through alterations in transcriptional regulation and downstream gene expression. Our goal is to identify functional variants, risk enhancers, and target genes underlying BE risk, leveraging unique resources and complementary statistical/experimental approaches. In Aim 1, we will define candidate causal variants via Bayesian fine-mapping, using the largest BE GWAS world- wide, and further prioritize leading candidates via functional-potential scores. In Aim 2, we will perform new transcriptome profiling of reflux-exposed gastroesophageal junction tissues and constituent cells, and identify candidate BE risk genes and pathways via eQTL colocalization and network-based analysis. In Aim 3, we will validate candidate functional variants using luciferase reporter enhancer activity assays; identify target genes of risk enhancers via CRISPR-mediated enhancer deletion and RNA-Seq; and interrogate pathways influenced by prioritized target genes in Aims 2 & 3 via CRISPR-mediated gene knockdown/overexpression and RNA- Seq. This study will advance noncoding GWAS signals into functional biological signatures and support future efforts to develop novel preventive/interventional strategies for BE/EAC.

Publications

(updated September 2024)

2023

  • Schröder J, Chegwidden L, Maj C, Gehlen J, Speller J, Böhmer AC, Borisov O, Hess T, Kreuser N, Venerito M, Alakus H, May A, Gerges C, Schmidt T, Thieme R, Heider D, Hillmer AM, Reingruber J, Lyros O, Dietrich A, Hoffmeister A, Mehdorn M, Lordick F, Stocker G, Hohaus M, Reim D, Kandler J, Müller M, Ebigbo A, Fuchs C, Bruns CJ, Hölscher AH, Lang H, Grimminger PP, Dakkak D, Vashist Y, May S, Görg S, Franke A, Ellinghaus D, Galavotti S, Veits L, Weismüller J, Dommermuth J, Benner U, Rösch T, Messmann H, Schumacher B, Neuhaus H, Schmidt C, Wissinowski TT, Nöthen MM; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2); Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Genetics Consortium (EAGLE); Barrett's and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON); Dong J, Ong JS, Buas MF, Thrift AP, Vaughan TL, Tomlinson I, Whiteman DC, Fitzgerald RC, Jankowski J, Vieth M, Mayr A, Gharahkhani P, MacGregor S, Gockel I, Palles C, Schumacher J. GWAS meta-analysis of 16 790 patients with Barrett's oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinoma identifies 16 novel genetic risk loci and provides insights into disease aetiology beyond the single marker level. Gut. 2023 Apr;72(4):612-623. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2021-326698. PMID: 35882562.

2022

  • Wang X, Gharahkhani P, Levine DM, Fitzgerald RC, Gockel I, Corley DA, Risch HA, Bernstein L, Chow WH, Onstad L, Shaheen NJ, Lagergren J, Hardie LJ, Wu AH, Pharoah PDP, Liu G, Anderson LA, Iyer PG, Gammon MD, Caldas C, Ye W, Barr H, Moayyedi P, Harrison R, Watson RP, Attwood S, Chegwidden L, Love SB, MacDonald D, deCaestecker J, Prenen H, Ott K, Moebus S, Venerito M, Lang H, Mayershofer R, Knapp M, Veits L, Gerges C, Weissmüller J, Reeh M, Nöthen MM, Izbicki JR, Manner H, Neuhaus H, Rösch T, Böhmer AC, Hölscher AH, Anders M, Pech O, Schumacher B, Schmidt C, Schmidt T, Noder T, Lorenz D, Vieth M, May A, Hess T, Kreuser N, Becker J, Ell C, Tomlinson I, Palles C, Jankowski JA, Whiteman DC, MacGregor S, Schumacher J, Vaughan TL, Buas MF, Dai JY. eQTL set-based association analysis identifies novel susceptibility loci for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2022 Sep 2;31(9):1735-1745 doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0096. PMID: 35709760.
  • Ong JS, An J, Han X, Law MH, Nandakumar P; 23andMe Research team; Esophageal cancer consortium, Schumacher J, Gockel I, Bohmer A, Jankowski J, Palles C, Olsen CM, Neale RE, Fitzgerald R, Thrift AP, Vaughan TL, Buas MF, Hinds DA, Gharahkhani P, Kendall BJ, MacGregor S. Multitrait genetic association analysis identifies 50 new risk loci for gastro-oesophageal reflux, seven new loci for Barrett's oesophagus and provides insights into clinical heterogeneity in reflux diagnosis. Gut. 2022 Jun;71(6):1053-1061. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-323906. PMID: 34187846.
  • Ong JS, Gharahkhani P, Vaughan TL, Whiteman D, Kendall BJ, MacGregor S. Assessing the genetic relationship between gastro-esophageal reflux disease and risk of COVID-19 infection. Hum Mol Genet. 2022 Feb 3;31(3):471-480. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddab253. PMID: 34553760.
  • Chen J, Ali MW, Yan L, Dighe SG, Dai JY, Vaughan TL, Casey G, Buas MF. Prioritization and functional analysis of GWAS risk loci for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Hum Mol Genet. 2022 Feb 3;31(3):410-422. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddab259. PMID: 34505128.

2021

  • Petrick JL, Pfeiffer RM, Liao LM, Abnet CC, Wu X, Gammon MD, Vaughan TL, Cook MB. Circulating MicroRNAs in Relation to Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Diagnosis and Survival. Dig Dis Sci. 2021 2021 Nov;66(11):3831-384. PMID: 33403483.
  • Dighe SG, Chen J, Yan L, He Q, Gharahkhani P, Onstad L, Levine DM, Palles C, Ye W, Gammon MD, Iyer PG, Anderson LA, Liu G, Wu AH, Dai JY, Chow WH, Risch HA, Lagergren J, Shaheen NJ, Bernstein L, Corley DA, Prenen H, deCaestecker J, MacDonald D, Moayyedi P, Barr H, Love SB, Chegwidden L, Attwood S, Watson P, Harrison R, Ott K, Moebus S, Venerito M, Lang H, Mayershofer R, Knapp M, Veits L, Gerges C, Weismüller J, Gockel I, Vashist Y, Nöthen MM, Izbicki JR, Manner H, Neuhaus H, Rösch T, Böhmer AC, Hölscher AH, Anders M, Pech O, Schumacher B, Schmidt C, Schmidt T, Noder T, Lorenz D, Vieth M, May A, Hess T, Kreuser N, Becker J, Ell C, Ambrosone CB, Moysich KB, MacGregor S, Tomlinson I, Whiteman DC, Jankowski J, Schumacher J, Vaughan TL, Madeleine MM, Hardie LJ, Buas MF. Germline variation in the insulin-like growth factor pathway and risk of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Carcinogenesis. 2021 Apr 17;42(3):369-377. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgaa132.2020. PMID: 33300568.

2020

  • Dong J, Maj C, Tsavachidis S, Ostrom QT, Gharahkhani P, Anderson LA, Wu AH, Ye W, Bernstein L, Borisov O, Schröder J, Chow WH, Gammon MD, Liu G, Caldas C, Pharoah PD, Risch HA, May A, Gerges C, Anders M, Venerito M, Schmidt T, Izbicki JR, Hölscher AH, Schumacher B, Vashist Y, Neuhaus H, Rösch T, Knapp M, Krawitz P, Böhmer A, Iyer PG, Reid BJ, Lagergren J, Shaheen NJ, Corley DA, Gockel I, Fitzgerald RC; Stomach and Oesophageal Cancer Study (SOCS) consortium, Cook MB, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL, Schumacher J, Thrift AP. Sex-Specific Genetic Associations for Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Gastroenterology. 2020 Dec;159(6):2065-2076.e1. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.08.052. PMID: 32918910.
  • Xie SH, Fang R, Huang M, Dai J, Thrift AP, Anderson LA, Chow WH, Bernstein L, Gammon MD, Risch HA, Shaheen NJ, Reid BJ, Wu AH, Iyer PG, Liu G, Corley DA, Whiteman DC, Caldas C, Pharoah PD, Hardie LJ, Fitzgerald RC, Shen H, Vaughan TL, Lagergren J. Association Between Levels of Sex Hormones and Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett's Esophagus. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Nov;18(12):2701-2709.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2019.11.030. [PMC7580878]
  • Böhmer AC, Julian Hecker J, Schröder J, Gharahkhani P, May A, Gerges C, Anders M, Becker M, Hess T, Kreuser N, Thieme R, Noder T, Venerito M, Veits L, Schmidt T, Fuchs C, Izbicki JR, Hölscher AH, Dietrich A, Moulla Y, Lyros O, Lang H, Lorenz D, Schumacher B, Meyershofer R, Vashist YK, Ott K, Vieth M, Weissmüller J, Moebus S, Knapp M, Neuhaus H, Rösch T, Ell C, Nöthen MM, Whiteman DC, Tomlinson I, Jankowski JA, Fitzgerald RC, Palles C, Vaughan TL, Gockel I, Thrift IP, Fier H, Schumacher J. Shared genetic etiology of obesity-related traits and Barrett’s esophagus/adenocarcinoma: Insights from genome-wide association studies. Cancer Epidem Biomarkers & Prevention. 2020 Feb;29(2):427-433. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-19-0374

2019

  • Petrick JL, Li N, Anderson LA, Corley DA, El Serag HB, Hardikar S, Liao LM, Liu G, Murray LJ, Rubenstein JH, Shaheen NJ, Thrift AP, van den Brandt PA, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC, Wu AH, Gammon MD, Cook MB. Diabetes in relation to Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal/esophagogastric junction adenocarcinomas: a pooled study from the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium. Cancer. 2019 Dec 1;125(23):4210-4223. doi: 10.1002/cncr.32444. [PMC7001889]
  • An J, Gharahkhani P, Law MH, Ong J-S, Han Xikun, Olsen CM, Neale RE, Lai J, Vaughan TL, Bohmer A, Jankowski J, Fitzgerald RC, Schumacher J, Palles C, BEACON, 23andMe Research Team, Whiteman DC, MacGregor S. Gastroesophageal reflux GWAS identifies risk loci that also associate with subsequent severe esophageal diseases. Nature Communications. 2019 Sep 16;10(1):4219. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11968-2. [PMC6746768]
  • Vaughan TL, Onstad L, Dai J. Interactive Decision Support for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Screening and Surveillance. BMC Gastroenterology. 2019 Jun 27;19(1):109. doi: 10.1186/s12876-019-1022-0. [PMC6598240]
  • Dong J, Gharahkhani P, Chow WH, Gammon MD, Liu G, Caldas C, Wu AH, Ye W, Onstad L, Anderson LA, Bernstein L, Pharoh PD, Risch HA, Corley DA, Fitzgerald RC, SOCS Consortium, Iyer PH, Reid BJ, Lagergren J, Shaheen, NJ, Vaughan TL, MacGrogor S, Love S, Palles C, Tomlinson I, Gockel I, May A, Gerges C, Anders M, Bohmer AC, Becker J, Kreuser N, Thieme R, Noder T, Venerito M, Veits L, Schmidt T, Schmidt C, Izbicki JR, Holscher AH, Lang H, Lorenz D, Schumacher B, Mayershofer R, Vashist Y, Ott K, Vieth M, Weismuller J, Nothen MM, Moebus S, Knapp M, Peters WHM, Neuhaus H, Rosch T, Ell C, Jankowski J, Schumacher J, Neale RE, Whiteman DC, Thrift AP. No Association Between Vitamin D Status and Risk of Barrett's Esophagus or Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A Mendelian Randomization Study. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology .2019 Oct;17(11):2227-2235.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2019.01.041. [PMC6675666]

2018

  • Wang Z, Shaheen NJ, Whiteman DC, Anderson LA, Vaughan TL, Corley DA, El-Serag HB, Rubenstein JH, Thrift AP. Helicobacter Pylori Infection is Associated With Reduced Risk of Barrett’s Esophagus: An Analysis of the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium. Amer J Gastroenterology. 2018 Aug;113(8):1148-1155.
  • Dong J, Levine DM, Buas MF, Zhang R, Onstad L, Fitzgerald RC, Stomach and Oesophageal Cancer Study (SOCS) consortium, Corley DA, Shaheen NJ, Lagergren J, Hardie LJ, Reid BJ, Iyer PG, Risch HA, Caldas C, Caldas I, Pharoah PD, Liu G, Gammon MD, Chow WH, Bernstein L, Bird NC, Ye W. Wu AH, Anderson LA, MacGregor S, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL, Thrift AP. Interactions Between Genetic Variants and Environmental Factors Affect Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s Esophagus.Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2018 Oct;16(10):1598-1606.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.03.007. [PMC6162842]
  • Dong J, Buas MF, Gharahkhani P, Kendall BJ, Onstad L, Zhao S, Anderson LA, Wu AH, Ye W, Bird NC, Bernstein L, Chow WH, Gammon MD, Liu G, Caldas C, Pharoah PD, Risch HA, Iyer PG, Reid JB, Lardie LJ, Lagergren J, Shaneen NJ, Corley DA, Fitzgerald RC, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL, Thrift AP. Determining Risk of Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Based on Epidemiologic Factors and Genetic Variants. Gastroenterology 2018 Apr;154(5):1273-1281. [PMC5880715]

2017

  • Li N, Petrick JL, Steck SE, Bradshaw PT, McClain KM, Niehoff NM, Engel LS, Shaheen NJ, Risch HA, Vaughan TL, Wu A, Gammon MD. A pooled analysis of dietary sugar/carbohydrate intake and esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma incidence and survival in the United States (US). Int J Epidem. 2017 Dec 1;46(6):1836-1846. [PMC5837717]
  • Li N, Petrick JL, Steck SE, Bradshaw PT, McClain KM, Niehoff NM, Engel LS, Shaheen NJ, Corley DA, Vaughan TL, Gammon MD. Dietary sugar/carbohydrate intake and Barrett’s esophagus: a pooled analysis. Eur J Epidemiol. 2017 Nov;32(11):1007-1017.
  • Thrift AP, Vaughan TL, Anderso LA, Whiteman DC, El-Serag HB. . External validation of the Michigan Barrett’s Esophagus pREdiction Tool (M-BERET). Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 Jul;15(7):1124-1126. [PMC5474137]

2016

  • Buas MF, He Q, Johnson LG, Onstad L, Levine DM, Thrift AP, Gharahkhani P, Palles C, Lagergren J, Fitzgerald RC, Ye W, Caldas C, Bird NC, Shaheen NJ, Bernstein L, Gammon MD, Wu AH, Hardie LJ, Pharoah PD, Liu G, Iyer P, Corley DA, Risch HA, Chow WH, Prenen H, Chegwidden L, Love S, Attwood S, Moayyedi P, MacDonald D, Harrison R, Watson P, Barr H, deCaestecker K, Tomlinson I, Jankowski J, Whiteman DC, MacGregor S, Vaughan TL, Madeleine MM. Germline variation in inflammation-related pathways and risk of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. GUT 2016 Aug 2. pii: gutjnl-2016-311622. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2016-311622. [PMC5296402]
  • Thrift AP, Anderson LA, Murray LJ, Cook MB, Shaheen NJ, Rubenstein JH, El-Serag HB, Vaughan TL, Schneider JL, Whiteman, DC, Corley DA. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use is Not Associated With Reduced Risk of Barrett’s Esophagus. Amer J Gastroenterology. 2016 Nov;111(11):1528-1535.
  • Gharahkhani P, Fitzgerald RC, Vaughan TL, Palles C, Gockel I, Tomlinson I, Buas MF, May A, Gerges C, Anders M, Becker J, Kreuser N, Noder T, Venerito M, Veits L, Schmidt T, Manner H, Schmidt C, Hess T, Böhmer AC, Izbicki JR, Hölscher AH, Lang H, Lorenz D, Schumacher B, Hackelsberger A, Mayershofer R, Pech O, Vashist Y, Ott K, Vieth M, Weismüller J, Nöthen MM; Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON); Esophageal Adenocarcinoma GenEtics Consortium (EAGLE); Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), Attwood S, Barr H, Chegwidden L, de Caestecker J, Harrison R, Love SB, MacDonald D, Moayyedi P, Prenen H, Watson RG, Iyer PG, Anderson LA, Bernstein L, Chow WH, Hardie LJ, Lagergren J, Liu G, Risch HA, Wu AH, Ye W, Bird NC, Shaheen NJ, Gammon MD, Corley DA, Caldas C, Moebus S, Knapp M, Peters WH, Neuhaus H, Rösch T, Ell C, MacGregor S, Pharoah P, Whiteman DC, Jankowski J, Schumacher J. Genome-wide association studies in oesophageal adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s oesophagus: a large-scale meta-analysis. Lancet Oncology. 2016 Oct;17(10):1363-1373.
  • Kendall BJ, Rubenstein JH, Cook MB, Vaughan TL, Anderson LA, Murray LJ, Shaheen NJ, Corley DA, Chandar AK, Li L, Greer KB, Chak A, El-Serag HB, Whiteman DC, Thrift AJ. Gluteofemoral obesity and risk of Barrett’s esophagus: a pooled analysis from the international BEACON consortium. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2016 Oct;14(10):1412-1419.
  • Wennerström ECM, Risques R, Prunkard D, Giffen CA, Corley DA, Murray LJ, Whiteman DC, Wu AH, Bernstein L, Ye W, Chow WH, Vaughan TL, Liao LD. Leukocyte telomere length in relation to the risk of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Medicine. 2016 Sep;5(9):2657-65.
  • Ek WE, Lagergren K, Cook M, Wu AH, Abnet CC, Levine D, Chow WH, Bernstein L, Risch HA, Shaheen NJ, Bird NC, Corley DA, Hardie LJ, Fitzgerald RC, Gammon M, Romero Y, Liu G, Ye W, Vaughan TL, MacGregor S, Whiteman DC, Westberg L, Lagergren J. Polymorphisms in genes in the androgen pathway and risk of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Int J Cancer. 2016 Mar 1;138(5):1146-52. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29863.
  • Gharahkhani P, Tung J, Hinds D, Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON), Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC, MacGregor S. Chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease shares genetic background with esophageal adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s esophagus. Hum Mol Genetics. 2016 Feb 15;25(4):828-35.
  • Drahos J, Xiao Q, Risch HA, Freedman ND, Abnet CC, Anderson LA, Bernstein L, Brown LM, Chow WH, Gammon MD, Kamangar F, Liao LM, Murray LJ, Ward MH, Ye W, Wu AH, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC, Cook MB. Age-specific risk factor profiles of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus: a pooled analysis from the international BEACON consortium. Int J Cancer. 2016 Jan 1;138(1):55-64.

2015

  • Dai JY, Tapsoba JD, Buas MF, Onstad LE, Levine DM, Risch HA, Chow JW, Bernstein L, Ye W, Lagergren J, Bird NC, Corley DA, Shaheen NJ, Wu AH, Reid BJ, Hardie LJ, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL. A newly identified susceptibility locus near FOXP1 modifies the association of gastroesophageal reflux with Barrett’s esophagus. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. 2015 Nov;24(11):1739-47.
  • Lagergren K, Ek WE, Levine D, Chow WH, Bernstein L, Casson AG, Risch HA, Shaheen NJ, Bird NC, Reid BJ, Corley DA, Hardie LJ, Wu AH, Fitzgerald RC, Pharoah P, Caldas C, Romero Y, Vaughan TL, MacGregor S, Whiteman D, Westberg L, Nyren O, Lagergren J. Polymorphisms in genes of relevance for oestrogen and oxytocin pathways and risk of Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinoma: A pooled analysis from the BEACON Consortium. PLOS ONE. 2015 Sep 25;10(9):e0138738. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138738.
  • Lee E, Stram D, Ek WE, Onstad LE, Macgregor S, Gharahkhani P, Ye W, Lagergren J, Shaheen NJ, Murray LJ, Hardie LJ, Gammon MD, Chow WH, Risch HA, Corley DA, Levine DM, Whiteman DC, Bernstein L, Vaughan TL, Wu A. Pleiotropic analysis of cancer risk loci on esophageal adenocarcinoma risk. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. 2015 Nov;24(11):1801-3.
  • Drahos J, Xiao Q, Risch HA, Freedman ND, Abnet CC, Anderson LA, Bernstein L, Brown LM, Chow WH, Gammon MD, Kamangar F, Liao LM, Murray LJ, Ward MH, Ye W, Wu AH, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC, Cook MB. Age-specific risk factor profiles of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus: a pooled analysis from the international BEACON consortium. Int J Cancer. 2015 Jul 14. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29688. [Epub ahead of print]
  • Buas MF, Onstad L, Levine DM, Risch HA, Chow WH, Liu G, Fitzgerald RC, Bernstein L, Ye W, Bird NC, Romero Y, Casson AG, Corley DA, Shaheen NJ, Wu AH, Gammon MD, Reid BJ, Hardie LJ, Peters U, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL. MiRNA-related SNPs and risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s esophagus: Post genome-wide association analysis in the BEACON consortium. PLOS ONE 2015 Jun 3;10(6):e0128617. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128617.
  • Palles C, Chegwidden L, Li X, Findlay JM, Farnham G, Giner FC, Peppelenbosch MP, Kovac M, Adams CL, Prenen H, Briggs S, Harrison R, Sanders S, MacDonald D, Haigh C, Tucker A, Love S, Nanji M, deCaestecker J, Ferry D, Rathbone B, Hapeshi J, Barr H, Zietek B, Maroo N, Gay L, Underwood T, Boulter L, McMurtry H, Monk D, Patel P, Ragunath K, Al Dulaimi D, Murray I, Koss K, Veitch A, Trudgill N, Nwokolo C, Rembacken B, Atherfold P, Green E, Ang Y, Kuipers EJ, Chow W, Paterson S, Kadri S, Beales I, Grimley C, Mullins P, Beckett C, Farrant M, Dixon A, Kelly S, Johnson M, Wajed S, Dhar A, Sawyer E, Roylance R, Onstad L, Gammon MD, Corley DA, Shaheen NJ, Bird NC, Hardie LJ, Reid BJ, Ye W, Liu G, Romero Y, Bernstein L, Wu AH, Casson AG, Fitzgerald R, Whiteman DC, Risch HA, Levine DM, Vaughan TL, Verhaar AP, van den Brande J, Toxopeus EL, Spaander MC, Wijnhoven BP, van der Laan LJ, Krishnadath K, Wijmenga C, Trynka G, McManus R, Reynolds JV, O’Sullivan J, MacMathuna P, McGarrigle SA, Kelleher D, Vermeire S, Cleynen I, Bisschops R, Tomlinson I, Jankowski J. Polymorphisms Near TBX5 and GDF7 Are Associated With Increased Risk for Barrett’s Esophagus. Gastroenterology. 2015 Feb;148(2):367-78. [PMC4315134]

2014

  • Buas MF, Levine DM, Makar KW, Utsugi H, Onstad L, Li X, Galipeau PC, Shaheen NJ, Hardie LJ, Romero Y, Bernstein L, Gammon MD, Casson AG, Bird NC, Risch HA, Ye W, Liu G, Corley DA, Blount PL, Fitzgerald RC, Whiteman DC, Wu AH, Reid BJ, Vaughan TL. Integrative post genome-wide association analysis of CDKN2A and TP53 SNPs and risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Carcinogenesis. 2014 Dec;35(12):2740-7. [PMC4247522]
  • Thrift AP, Shaheen NJ, Gammon MD, Bernstein L, Reid BJ, Onstad L, Risch HA, Liu G, Bird NC, Wu AH, Corley DA, Romero Y, Chow WH, Casson AG, Levine D, Zhang R, Ek WE, MacGregor S, Ye W, Hardie LJ, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC. Obesity and risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s esophagus: A Mendelian randomization study. JNCI. 2014 Sep 30;106(11). [PMC4200028]
  • Thrift AP, Cook MB, Vaughan TL, Anderson LA, Murray LJ, Whiteman DC, Shaheen NJ, Corley DA. Alcohol and risk of Barrett’s esophagus: a pooled analysis from the international BEACON consortium. Amer J Gastroenterology. 2014 Oct;109(10):1586-94. [PMC4189971]
  • Cook MB, Corley DA, Murray LJ, Liao LM, Kamangar F, Ye W, Gammon MD, Risch HA, Casson AG, Freedman ND, Chow WH, Wu HA, Bernstein L, Nyren O, Pandeya N, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL. Gastroesophageal reflux in relation to adenocarcinomas of the esophagus: A pooled analysis from the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON). PLoS ONE. 2014 Jul 30;9(7):e103508. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103508. [PMC4116205]
  • Ek WE, Lu Y, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL, Spurdle AB, Easton DF, Pharoah PD, Thompson DJ, Dunning AM, Hayward NK, Chenevix-Trency G, Q-MEGA and AMFS Investigators, ANECS-SEARCH, UKOPS-SEARCH, BEACON consortium, Macgregor S. Most common ‘sporadic’ cancers have a substantial germline genetic component. Human Molec Genetics. 2014 Nov 15;23(22):6112-8. [PMC4271103]
  • Thrift AP, Risch HA, Onstad L, Shaheen NJ, Casson AG, Bernstein L, Corley DA, Levine DM, Chow WH, Reid BJ, Romero Y, Hardie LJ, Liu G, Wu AH, Bird NC, Gammon MD, Ye W, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL. Risk of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Decreases with Height, Based on Consortium Analysis and Confirmed by Mendelian Randomization. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2014 Oct;12(10):1667-1676.e1. [PMC4130803]
  • Cook MB, Corley DA, Murray LJ, Liao LM, Kamangar F, Ye W, Gammon MD, Risch HA, Casson AG, Freedman ND, Chow WH, Wu HA, Bernstein L, Nyren O, Pandeya N, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL. Gastroesophageal reflux in relation to adenocarcinomas of the esophagus: A pooled analysis from the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON). PLoS ONE. 2014 Jul 30;9(7):e103508. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103508.

2013

  • Ek W, Levine D, D’Amato M, Pedersen N, Magnusson P, Bresso F, Onstad L, Schmidt P, Tomblom H, Nordenstedt H, Romero Y, Chow WH, Murray L, Gammon M, Liu G, Bernstein L, Casson A, Risch H, Shaheen N, Bird N, Reid BJ, Corley D, Hardie L, Ye W, Wu A, Zucchelli M, Spector T, Hysi P, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DW, MacGregor S. Germline genetic contributions to risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma, Barrett’s esophagus and gastroesophageal reflux. J Nat Cancer Inst 2013;105:1711–1718. [PMC3833931]
  • Levine DM, Ek WE, Zhang R, Liu X, Onstad L, Sather C, Lao-Sirieix P, Gammon MD, Corley DA, Shaheen NJ, Bird NC, Hardie LJ, Murray LJ, Reid BJ, Chow WH, Risch HA, Nyren O, Ye W, Liu G, Romero Y, Bernstein L, Wu AH, Casson AG, Chanock S, Harrington P, Caldas I, Debiram-Beecham I, Caldas C, Hayward NK, Pharoah P, Fitzgerald R, MacGregor S, Whiteman DC, Vaughan TL. A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies New Susceptibility Loci for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s Esophagus. Nature Genetics 2013 45:1487-93. [PMC3840115]
  • Kubo A, Cook MB, Shaheen NJ, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC, Murray L, Corley DA. Sex-specific associations between body mass index, waist circumference and the risk of Barrett’s esophagus: a pooled analysis from the international BEACON consortium. GUT. 2013 Dec;62(12):1684-91 [PMC3823827]

2012 and before

  • Hoyo C, Cook MB, Kamangar F, Freedman ND, Whiteman DC, Bernstein L, Brown LM, Risch HA, Ye W, Sharp L, Wu AH, Ward MH, Casson AG, Murray LJ, Corley DA, Nyrén O, Pandeya N, Vaughan TL, Chow WH, Gammon MD. Body mass index in relation to oesophageal and oesophagogastric junction adenocarcinomas: a pooled analysis from the International BEACON Consortium. International J Epidemiology 2012 Dec;41(6):1706-1718. [PMC3535758]
  • The Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Genetics Consortium, The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, Zhan Su, Laura J Gay, Amy Strange, Claire Palles, Gavin Band, David C Whiteman, Francesco Lescai, Cordelia Langford, Manoj Nanji, Sarah Edkins, Anouk van der Winkel, David Levine, Peter Sasieni, Céline Bellenguez, Kimberley Howarth, Colin Freeman, Nigel Trudgill, Art T Tucker, Matti Pirinen, Maikel P Peppelenbosch, Luc J W van der Laan, Ernst J Kuipers, Joost P H Drenth, Wilbert H Peters, John V Reynolds, Dermot P Kelleher, Ross McManus, Heike Grabsch, Hans Prenen, Raf Bisschops, Kausila Krishnadath, Peter D Siersema, Jantine W P M van Baal, Mark Middleton, Russell Petty, Richard Gillies, Nicola Burch, Pradeep Bhandari, Stuart Paterson, Cathryn Edwards, Ian Penman, Kishor Vaidya, Yeng Ang, Iain Murray, Praful Patel, Weimin Ye, Paul Mullins, Anna H Wu, Nigel C Bird, Helen Dallal, Nicholas J Shaheen, Liam J Murray, Konrad Koss, Leslie Bernstein, Yvonne Romero, Laura J Hardie, Rui Zhang, Helen Winter, Douglas A Corley, Simon Panter, Harvey A Risch, Brian J Reid, Ian Sargeant, Marilie D Gammon, Howard Smart, Anjan Dhar, Hugh McMurtry, Haythem Ali, Geoffrey Liu, Alan G Casson, Wong-Ho Chow, Matt Rutter, Ashref Tawil, Danielle Morris, Chuka Nwokolo, Peter Isaacs, Colin Rodgers, Krish Ragunath, Chris MacDonald, Chris Haigh, David Monk, Gareth Davies, Saj Wajed, David Johnston, Michael Gibbons, Sue Cullen, Nicholas Church, Ruth Langley, Michael Griffin, Derek Alderson, Panos Deloukas, Sarah E Hunt, Emma Gray, Serge Dronov, Simon C Potter, Avazeh Tashakkori-Ghanbaria, Mark Anderson, Claire Brooks, Jenefer M Blackwell, Elvira Bramon, Matthew A Brown, Juan P Casas, Aiden Corvin, Audrey Duncanson, Hugh S Markus, Christopher G Mathew, Colin N A Palmer, Robert Plomin, Anna Rautanen, Stephen J Sawcer, Richard C Trembath, Ananth C Viswanathan, Nicholas Wood, Gosia Trynka, Cisca Wijmenga, Jean-Baptiste Cazier, Paul Atherfold, Anna M Nicholson, Nichola L Gellatly, Deborah Glancy, Sheldon C Cooper, David Cunningham, Tore Lind, Julie Hapeshi, David Ferry, Barrie Rathbone, Julia Brown, Sharon Love, Stephen Attwood, Stuart MacGregor, Peter Watson, Scott Sanders, Weronica Ek, Rebecca F Harrison, Paul Moayyedi, John de Caestecker, Hugh Barr, Elia Stupka, Thomas L Vaughan, Leena Peltonen, Chris C A Spencer, Ian Tomlinson, Peter Donnelly & Janusz A Z Jankowski.Common variants at the MHC locus and at chromosome 16q24.1 predispose to Barrett’s esophagus. Nature Genetics 2012 Sep 9;44(10):1131-1136. [PMC3459818]
  • Lubin JH, Cook MB, Pandeya N, Vaughan TL, Abnet CC, Giffen C, Webb PM, Murray LJ, Casson AG, Risch HA, Ye W, Kamangar F, Bernstein L, Sharp L, Nyrén O, Gammon MD, Corley DA, Wu AH, Brown LM, Chow WH, Ward MH, Freedman ND, Whiteman DC. The importance of exposure rate on odds ratios by cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption for esophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in the Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium. Cancer Epidemiology. 2012 Jun;36(3):306-16. [PMC3489030]
  • Cook MB, Shaheen NJ, Anderson LA, Giffen C, Chow WH, Vaughan TL, Whiteman DC, Corley DA. Cigarette Smoking Increases Risk of Barrett’s Esophagus: An Analysis of the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium. Gastroenterology. 2012;142:744-53. [PMC3321098].
  • Liao LM, Vaughan TL, Corley DA, Cook MB, Casson AG, Kamangar F, Abnet CC, Risch HA, Giffen C, Freedman ND, Chow WH, Sadeghi S, Pandeya N, Whiteman DC, Murray LJ, Bernstein L, Gammon MD, Wu AH. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use reduces risk of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction in a pooled analysis. Gastroenterology. 2012 Mar;142(3):442-452.e5; quiz e22-3. [PMC3297725]
  • Freedman ND, Murray LJ, Kamangar F, Abnet CC, Cook MB, Nyrén O, Ye W, Wu AH, Bernstein L, Brown LM, Ward MH, Pandeya N, Green AC, Casson AG, Giffen C, Risch HA, Gammon MD, Chow WH, Vaughan TL, Corley DA, Whiteman DC. Alcohol intake and risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma: a pooled analysis from the BEACON Consortium. Gut. 2011 Aug;60(8):1029-37. [PMC3439838]
  • Cook MB, Kamangar F, Whiteman DC, Freedman ND, Gammon MD, Bernstein L, Brown LM, Risch HA, Ye W, Sharp L, Pandeya N, Webb PM, Wu AH, Ward MH, Giffen C, Casson AG, Abnet CC, Murray LJ, Corley DA, Nyrén O, Vaughan TL, Chow WH. Cigarette smoking and adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction: a pooled analysis from the international BEACON consortium. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2010 Sep 8;102(17):1344-53. [PMC2935475]
  • Cronin-Fenton DP, Murray LJ, Whiteman DC, Cardwell C, Webb PM, Jordan SJ, Corley DA, Sharp L, Lagergren J; Barrett’s Esophagus, Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON) Investigators. Reproductive and sex hormonal factors and oesophageal and gastric junction adenocarcinoma: a pooled analysis. Eur J Cancer. 2010 Jul;46(11):2067-76.
  • BEAGESS study featured in International Innovation. 2011; Health Care Issue 13.