Cystic fibrosis is associated with an increased risk of Barrett's esophagus

Background: Barrett’s esophagus (BE) requires surveillance to identify potential neoplasia at early stage. Standard surveillance regimen includes random four-quadrant biopsies by Seattle protocol. Main limitations of random biopsies are high risk of sampling error, difficulties in histology interpretation, common inadequate classification of pathohistological changes, increased risk of bleeding and time necessary to acquire the final diagnosis. Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) has emerged as a potential tool with an aim to overcome these obvious limitations. Summary: pCLE represents real-time microscopic imaging method that offers evaluation of epithelial and subepithelial structures with 1000-fold magnification. In theory, pCLE has potential to eliminate the need for biopsy in BE patient. The main advantages would be real-time diagnosis and decision making, greater diagnostic accuracy and to evaluate larger area compared to random biopsies. Clinical pCLE studies in esophagus show high diagnostic accuracy and its high negative predictive value offers high reliability and confidence to exclude dysplastic and neoplastic lesions. However, it still cannot replace histopathology due to lower positive predictive value and sensitivity. Key messages: Despite promising results, its role in routine use in patients with Barrett’s esophagus remains questionable primarily due to lack of well-organized double-blind randomized trials.

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Persistent confirmed low-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus is a risk factor for progression to high-grade dysplasia and adenocarcinoma in a US Veterans cohort

Diseases of the Esophagus ◽

10.1093/dote/doz061 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K Y Song ◽

A J Henn ◽

A A Gravely ◽

H Mesa ◽

S Sultan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Barrett’S Esophagus ◽

Barrett's Esophagus ◽

Independent Risk Factor ◽

High Grade Dysplasia ◽

Low Grade ◽

High Grade ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Low Grade Dysplasia

SUMMARY Patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE) and low-grade dysplasia (LGD) are at increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), although many regress to nondysplastic BE. This has significant clinical importance for patients being considered for endoscopic eradication therapy. Our aim is to determine the risk for progression in patients with confirmed persistent LGD. We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients with BE and confirmed LGD between 2006 and 2016. Confirmed LGD was defined as LGD diagnosed by consensus conference with an expert GI pathologist or review by an expert GI pathologist and persistence as LGD present on subsequent endoscopic biopsy. The primary outcome was the incidence rate of HGD (high-grade dysplasia)/EAC. Secondary outcomes included risk factors for dysplastic progression. Risk factors for progression were assessed using univariate and multivariate analysis with logistic regression. Of 69 patients (mean age 65.2 years) with confirmed LGD were included. In total, 16 of 69 patients (23.2%) with LGD developed HGD/EAC during a median follow-up of 3.74 years (IQR, 1.24–5.45). For persistent confirmed LGD, the rate was 6.44 (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.61–13.40) compared to 2.61 cases per 100 patient-years (95% CI, 0.83–6.30) for nonpersistent LGD. Persistent LGD was found in only 29% of patients. Persistent LGD was an independent risk factor for the development of HGD/EAC (OR 4.18; [95% CI, 1.03–17.1]). Persistent confirmed LGD, present in only 1/3 of patients, was an independent risk factor for the development of HGD/EAC. Persistence LGD may be useful in decision making regarding the management of BE.

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