Gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies account for a large portion of cancers worldwide. Although incidence of esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers has decreased in recent years, pancreatic and liver cancer have increased. The mainstay of GI cancer therapy is chemoradiation and surgery. Despite significant medical advancements, diagnosis and therapy for GI cancers remain challenging due to tumor cell resistance to chemoradiotherapy.  The tumor's increased cell signalling due to excessive transcription factor activation and increased stellate cell activity leads to collagen deposition formation of a dense stroma around the tumor, which prevents drugs from reaching the malignant cells. This leads to tumor chemoresistance.

To circumvent these difficulties, drug therapy targeting the tumor's specific microenvironment and the additive anticancer effect of phytochemicals can allow for more effective treatment. This volume will be the first on the market on the topic of phytochemicals and their effect on the tumor microenvironment (TME). TME is an emerging area of research and the book will be a welcome introductory addition to the field.

Dr. Nagaraju GP is a faculty member in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Nagaraju obtained his MSc and PhD, both in biotechnology from Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. Dr. Nagaraju received his D.Sc. from Berhampur University in Berhampur, Odisha, India. Dr. Nagaraju's research focuses on translational research in gastrointestinal malignancies. He has published over 90 research papers in highly respected international journals and has presented more than 50 abstracts at various national and international conferences. He is author and editor of several books. Dr. Nagaraju is an editorial board member of several internationally recognized academic journals, and is an associate member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics research program at Winship Cancer Institute. He is a member of the Association of Scientists of Indian Origin in America (ASIOA), the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB), the Science Advisory Board, The RNA Society and the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).