Endoscopic Surveillance for Patients with Barrett Esophagus: Does the Cancer Risk Justify the Practice?

Excerpt

Barrett esophagus is a condition that has clinical importance primarily because of its association with adenocarcinoma. Recent studies (1-3) have reported an incidence of esophageal cancer for patients with Barrett esophagus of approximately one case per 200 patientyears, which is approximately 30 to 40 times higher than that in the general population of the United States (4). Cancer of the esophagus is a tumor not commonly found in the general population, however, accounting for only about 1% of all malignancies reported in this country (5). Even a fortyfold increase in the incidence of this uncommon neoplasm represents a small risk