Review of Barrett's and esophageal adenocarcinoma

The authors review the incidence of BE and EAC and associated risk factors, evidence for improved outcomes among patients with a prior diagnosis of BE compared to those without, and the challenges of developing accurate prediction models in the context of high population prevalence of risk factors.

Tom Vaughan

08 Apr 2022 — 1 min read

Gastrointest Endosc Clin N Am. 2021 Jan;31(1):1-26.

doi: 10.1016/j.giec.2020.08.001. Epub 2020 Oct 21.

PMID: 33213789 PMCID: PMC7887893(available on 2022-01-01)

Epidemiology of Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: Implications for Screening and Surveillance

Michael B Cook, Aaron P Thrift

Abstract

In the United States, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma increased markedly since the 1970s with a recent stabilization. Despite evolving screening and surveillance strategies to diagnose, risk triage, and intervene in Barrett's esophagus patients to prevent esophageal adenocarcinoma, most cases present with advanced disease and poor resultant survival. Epidemiologic studies have identified the main risk factors for these conditions, including increasing age, male sex, white race, gastroesophageal reflux disease, abdominal obesity, cigarette smoking, and lack of infection with Helicobacter pylori. This review summarizes the current epidemiologic evidence with implications for screening and surveillance in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Liquid biopsy to diagnose esophageal adenocarcinoma

This impressive multicenter study by Miyoshi et al. introduces a new diagnostic tool named EMERALD, which is a six-circulating miRNA signature designed to effectively differentiate patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and its precursor, Barrett's esophagus (BE), from non-disease controls. The research involved analyzing 792 patient samples across four

Neoplastic progression in young Barrett's patients

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is quite rare among persons younger than 40 years, but the consequences of the disease, including years of life lost, can be devastating. Due to its rarity there has been little research on how risk factors in young persons (e.g., Barrett's esophagus (BE), obesity, GERD,

Diagnosis and management of GERD

While most adults occasionally experience symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, such as heartburn and regurgitation, approximately 20% (30 million people in the U.S.) experience these symptoms more frequently, ranging from once a week to multiple times a day. (1) Complications associated with GERD can include esophageal strictures, ulcers, and even

Ethics of screening based on race/ethnicity

This article explores some of the ethical implications of using race and ethnicity for cancer screening, using esophageal adenocarcinoma and gastric cancer as examples. It highlights the disparities in cancer incidence and mortality among different racial and ethnic groups and examines the potential benefits and drawbacks of screening based (in