Gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barrett's esophagus

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a very common disorder, mainly occurring in Western countries. The nonerosive form of GERD, which occurs in more than half of the patients affected, deserves particular attention. Administering symptomatic therapy without a prior endoscopic examination has become an attractive option, since it also provides diagnostic information. Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) have become established as the standard therapy, but new insights into the pathophysiology of the condition may lead to new treatment options using gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonists. Endoscopic therapy is still at the experimental stage and has yet to prove its value as an alternative to PPI and surgery. However, it is questionable whether antireflux surgery is more cost-effective in the longer term.[nl]Gastroenterologists are now much more aware of Barrett's esophagus than was the case a few years ago. Barrett's esophagus is a frequent finding in patients with reflux symptoms, but is a rare cause of death in affected patients. For several reasons, there is a large gap between recommendations regarding surveillance, on the one hand, and everyday practice on the other. New diagnostic procedures such as chromoendoscopy may allow better detection of premalignant and malignant alterations in metaplastic mucosa, but the safety of such techniques has been questioned. Prophylactic ablation is a debatable approach, whereas endoscopic interventions in patients with high-grade dysplasia and early adenocarcinoma are continuing to develop as attractive alternatives to esophagectomy in selected patients. It remains to be seen whether chemoprevention using cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors should be carried out in high-risk patients with Barrett's esophagus, in order to prevent malignant transformation to esophageal cancer.