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Update on Ablation for Barrett’s Esophagus

  • Esophagus (L Gerson, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Endoscopic ablation has dramatically changed the treatment algorithm for patients with Barrett’s esophagus. Studies clearly show the benefits of this approach for patients with high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal carcinoma. Recent studies also provide evidence in support of this approach for patients with low-grade dysplasia but not for patients with nondysplastic Barrett’s epithelium. Endoscopic ablation is safe and efficacious in most but not all patients and disease progression may occur during initial therapy as well as after successful completion in a small difficult to identify subset of patients. Furthermore, the past year has provided us with a better understanding of the durability of endoscopic ablation with highly variable rates of disease recurrence. Studies are underway to help determine predictors of response and recurrence.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Conflict of Interest

Gary Falk has consulted for and received travel/accommodation expenses from Aptalis Pharma, Olympus and CDX.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 9 Penn Tower, One Convention Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Gary W. Falk

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  1. Gary W. Falk
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Correspondence to Gary W. Falk.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Esophagus

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Falk, G.W. Update on Ablation for Barrett’s Esophagus. Curr Gastroenterol Rep 16, 368 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-013-0368-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-013-0368-7

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