Barrett’s Esophagus

The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma continues to increase at an alarming rate in the Western world. While the prognosis for early esophageal adenocarcinoma is excellent, the long-term survival of advanced cases remains problematic. Barrett’s esophagus is the precursor lesion for esophageal adenocarcinoma, and our approach to both Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma has changed dramatically in recent years. Key advances in the field, such as high-definition endoscopy, endoscopic mucosal resection, and radiofrequency ablation, have revolutionized the detection and treatment of dysplasia and early neoplasia. However, other areas in Barrett’s esophagus remain problematic, including our understanding of the cell or origin, risk factors for the disease and its progression, better population-based screening, and more rational surveillance techniques.

Drs Prasad Iyer and Navtej Buttar have assembled an outstanding group of experts to address many of the challenging issues in the field of Barrett’s esophagus today. This issue celebrates some of the advances in our understanding and approach to this disease as well as highlights areas of uncertainty where progress is still needed. These state-of-the-art reviews provide a superb foundation as we try to address the many unresolved issues in the field of Barrett’s esophagus.

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