This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Gastrointestinal Diseases  • Oncology, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic

Jeffrey H. Peters, MD
Los Angeles, Calif

Arch Surg. 2000;135:836.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The change in esophageal carcinoma from predominantly squamous carcinoma associated with tobacco and alcohol use to predominantly adenocarcinoma associated with reflux has to be one of the most dramatic epidemiologic shifts in human neoplasia. Despite a heightened awareness, we have only begun our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease. The study by Sabel et al addresses the long-standing controversy of whether all adenocarcinomas of the esophagus arise within the Barrett epithelium and thus progress through a metaplasia, dysplasia, carcinoma sequence. Unfortunately, the tools presently available to answer this question are crude, namely, demographic and symptomatic differences and comparison of survival statistics. The authors have compared these parameters in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma with and without surrounding Barrett epithelium. The primary findings of this study were a surprisingly low prevalence of reflux-related symptoms, both with and without identifiable Barrett epithelium; smaller and earlier-stage tumors in patients . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus With and Without Barrett Mucosa
Michael S. Sabel, Kate Pastore, Hannah Toon, and Judy L. Smith
Arch Surg. 2000;135(7):831-836.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT