title: Barrett's esophagus: treatment or observation of a major precursor factor of esophageal cancer?
abstract: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a major precursor factor of esophageal cancer (EC). The appropriate management of patients with BE depends on the presence or not of dysplasia and the type of dysplasia that occurs. Due to the small proportion of BE patients that progress to cancer, the value of surveillance programs are a matter of debate. On the contrary, in high risk group of patients surveillance programs have significant impact. Large prospective trials are needed to define the optimal management strategy. Elucidation of carcinogenesis' steps and signal transduction pathways could reveal potential biomarkers in the order of early prediction for a highly malignant neoplasm with dismal prognosis. An efficacious tailored-made manner focusing to the safety profile and associated costs should be practised for less severe disease. In this review a thorough investigation of all available methods dealing with the clinical management of BE is provided.
authors: Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, Medical Oncology Department, Nicosia, Cyprus. pantkount@gmail.com
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Kountourakis
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Papademetriou
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Ardavanis
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Papamichael
mesh_terms: D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003452:Cryosurgery; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D012307:Risk Factors