Thank you for this valuable comment. The journal requires an unstructured abstract. As suggested by the reviewer, we have therefore reorganized the abstract and improved the flow of reading: Abstract: Esophageal and Gastric Adenocarcinomas (AGE/S) are characterized by early metastasis and poor survival. MACC1 (Metastasis Associated in Colon Cancer 1) acts in colon cancer as a metastasis inducer, linked to reduced survival. This project illuminates the role and potential of inhibition of MACC1 in AGE/S. Using 266 of 360 TMAs and survival data of AGE/S patients we confirm the value of MACC1 as an independent negative prognostic marker in AGE/S patients. MACC1 gene expression correlated with survival and morphological characteristics. In vitro analysis of lentivirally MACC1 manipulated subclones of FLO-1 and OE33 showed enhanced migration induced by MACC1 in both cell line models, which could be inhibited by the MEK1 inhibitor selumetinib. In vivo, the efficacy of selumetinib on tumor growth and metastasis of MACC1-overexpressing FLO-1 cells xenografted intrasplenically in NOG mice was tested. Mice with high MACC1 expressing cells developed faster and larger distant metastases. Treatment with selumetinib led to a significant reduction of metastasis exclusively in the MACC1 positive xenografts.
[10] If the journal allows it, please break up the abstract into Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion. If the journal requires an unstructured abstract instead, please reorganize the current abstract so that the content flows uninterrupted (e.g. "MACC1 is an independent negative prognostic marker in AGE/S patients." should be after "Expression was correlated with survival and morphological characteristics." and before "To analyze the role of MACC1 in vitro the cell lines FLO-1 and OE33 were lentivirally manipulated." and so on).