Treatment of Barrett’s esophagus with high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

High-grade dysplasia and intramucosal adenocarcinoma are premalignant and malignant lesions of the esophagus. The incidence of lymphatic or systemic metastases is low and esophagectomy is curative in most patients. Until recently, complete removal of the neoplastic tissue was reliably accomplished with only esophagectomy. New technologies have been developed that allow endoscopic mucosal resection and ablation with preservation of the esophagus for these lesions. Optimal treatment of the patient requires consideration of not only the stage of the lesion but also the pathophysiology of the esophagus and the severity of the underlying reflux disease. Only with this approach can outcomes be optimized for both the dysplasia or cancer and the patient’s reflux disease and long-term quality of life. In this article, we summarize the experience from a surgical center’s perspective.

Keywords::

• Barrett’s esophagus
• endoscopic mucosal resection
• high-grade dysplasia
• intramucosal adenocarcinoma
• vagal-sparing esophagectomy

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.