Advanced diagnostic endoscopy in the upper gastrointestinal tract: Review of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopic Society core sessions

The Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES) held four serial symposia between 2021 and 2022 on state-of-the-art issues related to advanced diagnostic endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract. This review summarizes the four core sessions and presents them as a conference report. Eleven studies were discussed in the 101st JGES Core Session, which addressed the challenges and prospects of upper gastroenterological endoscopy. Ten studies were also explored in the 102nd JGES Core Session on advanced upper gastrointestinal endoscopic diagnosis for decision-making regarding therapeutic strategies. Moreover, eight studies were presented during the 103rd JGES Core Session on the development and evaluation of endoscopic artificial intelligence in the field of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Twelve studies were also discussed in the 104th JGES Core Session, which focused on the evidence and new developments related to the upper gastrointestinal tract. The endoscopic diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal diseases using image-enhanced endoscopy and AI is one of the most recent topics and has received considerable attention. These four core sessions enabled us to grasp the current state-of-the-art in upper gastrointestinal endoscopic diagnostics and identify future challenges. Based on these studies, we hope that an endoscopic diagnostic system useful in clinical practice is established for each field of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.