Endoscopic management of Barrett's and early oesophageal neoplasia

Abstract

Barrett's oesophagus (BO) is the only known precursor to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC). Dysplasia and intramucosal cancer arising in BO can safely be treated with endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) due to the low risk of subsequent lymph node metastasis. Treatment at an early stage is paramount due to the ongoing poor prognosis and outcomes of patients with advanced OAC. The mainstay of treatment is endoscopic resection of visible lesions for accurate staging followed by ablation therapy to all remaining columnar-lined epithelium, most commonly with radiofrequency ablation. Successful eradication of dysplasia can be achieved in >95% of patients with this EET combined approach.