Yvonne Romero, M.D.

Yvonne Romero, M.D., is an assistant professor of medicine in the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and a consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Department of Otorhinolaryngology. In addition, she is a Mayo Graduate School faculty member in clinical research.

The overall aim of Dr. Romero's research efforts is to decrease the mortality rate of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Along this line, two large, highly collaborative efforts of investigation are under way.

Focus areas

• Barrett's Esophagus Genomic Study group. Established in 1998, the Barrett's Esophagus Genomic Study group is composed of 156 physicians from varying practice environments who collaborate to identify families in which three or more members have classic long-segment Barrett's esophagus with or without esophageal adenocarcinoma, in order to collect blood specimens for linkage analysis.
• Mayo Clinic Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett's Esophagus (EABE) Registry Consortium. This consortium is an unprecedented resource combining phenotype (endoscopy: erosive reflux esophagitis, hiatal hernia, Barrett's esophagus, esophageal adenocarcinoma); pathology, as interpreted by three world-authority pathologists; quality of life (using validated instruments); genotype (blood and tissue); and environmental risk factor (using validated questionnaires) information.

  This collaborative venture represents the efforts of 104 Mayo Clinic physicians from Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Genetic Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Medical Oncology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Pathology, Pulmonary Medicine, Psychiatry and Psychology, Radiation Oncology, Thoracic Surgery, and the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

Significance to patient care

The aims of the EABE Registry loosely include identification of candidate loci for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and its complications, and to contribute to the scientific literature regarding the genomic steps necessary for the transformation from Barrett's esophagus to adenocarcinoma. In addition, identification of genomic polymorphisms that are associated with distant metastasis or that confer survival benefit may also prove possible using the EABE Registry resource.