Improving Dysplasia Detection in Barrett's Esophagus

The incidence of Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) continues to increase in Western countries, and EAC continues to have an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 20%. This is predominantly due to most EAC cases being diagnosed at advanced stages, after the onset of alarm symptoms. The rationale behind endoscopic surveillance of BE follows the paradigm that metaplasia (BE) progresses to EAC via the development of low- (LGD) and then high-grade dysplasia (HGD). Hence, endoscopic surveillance is recommended to enable early detection of dysplasia and EAC. Numerous endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) modalities, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA), cryotherapy, and endoscopic resection, enable effective treatment of dysplasia and early-stage EAC. Indeed, randomized trials have conclusively shown that endoscopic treatment of BE-HGD and BE-LGD with RFA reduces progression to EAC. Additionally, EET effectively treats early-stage EAC.