An effective treatment for Barrett’s esophagus

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A noninvasive treatment for Barrett’s esophagus, a condition caused by chronic acid reflux, eradicates the condition in most people, according to a study published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Barrett’s esophagus is diagnosed when chronic acid reflux causes changes in cells that line the esophagus. Some people with the condition will go on to develop cancer of the esophagus. One newer procedure for treating Barrett’s esophagus is radiofrequency ablation, in which heat is used to destroy the abnormal cells in a noninvasive, outpatient procedure.

The study, by researchers at the University of North Carolina, involved 127 people with the condition who were randomized to receive either radiofrequency ablation or a simulated ‘sham’ version of the procedure. The study found that 77.4% of the patients who received radiofrequency ablation had complete removal of the abnormal cells compared with 2.3% in the sham group. Only 1.2% of the treated patients went on to develop esophageal cancer compared with 9.3% in the untreated group.

For more information on Barrett’s esophagus, see this Web page from the National Institutes of Health.

— Shari Roan