title: Barrett's esophagus: management of high-grade dysplasia and cancer.
abstract: Esophagectomy remains the treatment of choice for the appropriate patient with Barrett's adenocarcinoma invading beyond the mucosa, without evidence of distant metastasis or invasion of adjacent organs. On the other hand, therapeutic management of patients with Barrett's high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or mucosal adenocarcinoma should be individualized, taking into account the patient's preferences, willingness to return for frequent endoscopic biopsies, and medical fitness to undergo esophagectomy. Surgery has to be considered the best treatment for HGD or superficial carcinoma, unless contraindicated by severe comorbidities, because it has proven to be the only treatment that is successful in curing the condition and preventing recurrent HGD or the development of invasive cancer. Nonsurgical treatment by photodynamic therapy or endoscopic mucosal resection may be a less invasive and organ-sparing option for elderly, poor-risk patients but it is still to be considered an investigational therapy that should only be conducted under a clinical trial protocol. Finally, intensive endoscopic biopsy surveillance of patients with HGD is another investigational option that may allow prompt treatment of cancer if it develops. However, few data document the safety of this observational approach.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Chirurgica 3 degrees, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. alberto.ruol@unipd.it
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruol
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaninotto
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cagol
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alfieri
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epifani
authors.forename: Ermanno
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ancona
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000379:methods; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods