Topic Highlight
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Aug 15, 2014; 5(3): 178-187
Published online Aug 15, 2014. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v5.i3.178
Barrett’s oesophagus: Evidence from the current meta-analyses
Piers Gatenby, Yuen Soon
Piers Gatenby, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London NW32QG, United Kingdom
Piers Gatenby, Yuen Soon, Regional Oesophagogastric Unit, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford GU2 7XX, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Gatenby P concepted and designed the manuscript; acquisited and analysed data; and drafted the paper; Gatenby P and Soon Y interpreted the data and final approved of the version to be published; Soon Y concepted and revised the article critically.
Supported by Barrett’s Oesophagus Campaign; the Wexham Gastrointestinal Trust, the Childwick Trust; the R.L. St J. Harmsworth Memorial Research Fund and the David and Frederick Barclay Foundation
Correspondence to: Piers Gatenby, MA, MD, FRCS, UCL, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, Royal Free Campus, Pond Street, London NW32QG, United Kingdom. p.gatenby@ucl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-020-74726223 Fax: +44-020-74726224
Received: December 31, 2013
Revised: April 5, 2014
Accepted: May 29, 2014
Published online: August 15, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: The presence of intestinal metaplasia on biopsy has been regarded as a necessity for enrolment in a surveillance programme for Barrett’s oesophagus and surveillance intervals have been based on segment length and the presence or absence of dysplasia. Evidence from meta-analyses supports male gender and negative Helicobacter pylori infection status as important markers of cancer risk and of the role of aspirin, statins and ablation of the Barrett’s segment to reduce cancer risk. The evidence from meta-analyses supporting segment length and dysplasia as markers of cancer risk is poor and for intestinal metaplasia has not been shown.