Advances in the endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of Barrett's neoplasia

Chronic Gingivostomatitis with Esophagitis in Cats

BACKGROUND

Chronic gingivostomatitis in cats (FCG) is a debilitating disease with potentially deleterious effects on overall health.

HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES

Little is known about the pathophysiology and overall impact of FCG. The aims of our study were to investigate whether gingivostomatitis occurs concurrently with esophagitis, if FCG treatment contributes to esophagitis and if esophagitis exacerbates signs of FCG.

ANIMALS

Fifty-eight cats with clinical signs of FCG and 12 healthy control cats exhibiting no signs of oral disease, all client-owned.

METHODS

Prospective study. Physical, oral and endoscopic examinations were performed on all cats. Measurements of salivary and esophageal lumen pH were obtained from both groups. Biopsies were acquired from sites of esophageal inflammation in cats with FCG and from normal-appearing esophageal mucosa in control cats.

RESULTS

The majority of cats with clinical signs of FCG exhibited some degree of esophagitis especially in the proximal (44/58) and distal (53/58) parts (P < 0.001) with or without columnar metaplasia, compared to controls. All cats lacked signs related to gastrointestinal disease. Salivary and esophageal lumen pH were not statistically different compared to controls.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE

Feline chronic gingivostomatitis seems to occur concurrently with esophagitis. Esophagitis also should be managed in cats with chronic gingivostomatitis because it may aggravate the existing condition.

Complex early Barrett's neoplasia at 3 Western centers: European Barrett's Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Trial (E-BEST)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an effective technique to resect early Barrett's neoplasia and has advantages over conventional EMR in that it enables en-bloc resection and accurate histopathologic analysis of cancer resection margins. However, its long learning curve and higher adverse event rate have tempered its uptake in the West. We aimed to analyze the safety and efficacy of ESD when used to resect complex Barrett's neoplasia. The primary endpoint was the en-bloc and R0 resection rate.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis of 143 ESDs for Barrett's neoplasia performed in 3 tertiary referral centers from 2008 to 2016.

RESULTS

The mean lesion size was 31.1 mm (range, 5-90) and median follow-up time 21.6 months (interquartile range, 11.0-32.6). In total, 24.5% of lesions (35/143) were scarred after previous endoscopic resection, surgery, or radiotherapy. The en-bloc resection rate was 90.8% and R0 resection rate 79% in this series. The overall adverse event rate was 3.5% (1.4% bleeding, 0% perforation, and 2.1% stricture formation). The expanded curative resection rate was 65.8%, reflecting the R0 resection rate and proportion of cases with more advanced disease. Submucosal cancer was identified as a significant factor affecting the R0 resection rate.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated the feasibility and safety of ESD in the West for resection of complex Barrett's neoplasia including large, nodular, or scarred lesions. This is a safe and effective technique with a low adverse event rate when performed by an experienced operator. The en-bloc resection rate reached a plateau once 30 procedures had been performed.

Optimizing the diagnosis and therapy of Barrett's esophagus

The incidence of Barrett's esophagus (BE) in the Western world has increased over the last decades. BE is considered a premalignant lesion that can progress to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a highly aggressive malignancy with poor survival rates. The close association between BE and EAC highlights the need for an early diagnosis in order to improve survival and outcomes in this group of patients. Although the evidence for BE screening with conventional endoscopy is controversial and limited by cost-effectiveness studies, screening can be suggested in patients with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and two or more risk factors for EAC. Less invasive techniques with lower costs and higher acceptability by the patients may be useful for screening in the general population. Several novel techniques have been described to aid in the early diagnosis and management of BE and dysplasia. However, these techniques have shown variable results with higher costs, the need of specific training, and variable inter-observer imaging interpretation, making its widespread implementation problematic. High-definition/high-resolution white-light endoscopy (WLE) continues to be a well-accepted technique for the evaluation and surveillance of patients with BE. Further studies are required in order to establish the efficacy of less invasive methods that can be performed in an outpatient setting for BE screening in higher risk individuals.