Open AccessEffect of medical and surgical treatment of Barrett’s metaplasia
Author(s) -
Eelco B. Wassenaar,
Brant K. Oelschlager
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v16.i30.3773
Subject(s) - medicine , dysplasia , barrett's esophagus , metaplasia , disease , esophageal cancer , intestinal metaplasia , esophagus , reflux , incidence (geometry) , medical treatment , esophageal disease , risk factor , esophagectomy , gastroenterology , cancer , surgery , adenocarcinoma , intensive care medicine , physics , optics
Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a change in the esophageal mucosa as a result of long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease. The importance of BE is that it is the main risk factor for the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma, whose incidence is currently growing faster than any other cancer in the Western world. The aim of this review was to compare the common treatment modalities of BE, with the focus on proton pump inhibitors and operative fundoplication. We performed a literature search on medical and surgical treatment of BE to determine eligible studies for this review. Studies on medical and surgical treatment of BE are discussed with regard to treatment effect on progression and regression of disease. Although there is some evidence for control of reflux with either medical or surgical therapy, there is no definitive evidence that either treatment modality decreases the risk of progression to dysplasia or cancer. Even though there is a trend toward antireflux surgery being superior, there are no definitive studies to prove this.