Early Barrett's carcinoma of the esophagus.

Received December 19, 2007; accepted for publication April 28, 2008 Address reprint requests to Arnulf H. Hölscher, MD, FACS, FRCS: Department of General, Visceral and Cancer Surgery, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62. D–50937 Köln, Germany. ©2008 The Editorial Committee of Annals of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. All rights reserved. recent publications, early cancer accounted for 16%– 38% of resected ACs of the esophagus. In parallel with the rising incidence of AC of the esophagus, ACs located at the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) have also been observed more frequently. BE is considered one of the most important complications of gastroesophageal reflux disease because of its association with AC. The risk for patients with BE to develop an AC is up to 125 times higher than in the normal population. Figures on the prevalence of BE vary considerably. In 1,128 consecutive patients with reflux symptoms or dyspepsia referred for endoscopy in primary care, the prevalence was 1% in the whole population and 4.4% in the gastroesophageal reflux disease–enriched population. In a German outpatient study of 6,215 patients with reflux symptoms, the overall prevalence was reported to be 4.9%; however, in those with esophagitis, 8.4% had BE. The incidence of BE is rising. A study of the general population in the Netherlands showed an incidence of 14.3 per 100,000 persons per year in 1997 and 23.1 per 100,000 persons per year in 2002. A recent published study showed that approximately a third of the German adult population suffer gastroesophageal reflux. Furthermore, reports have been made about the rising incidence rates of gastroesophageal reflux in Western industrial nations.