Managing Barrett's esophagus: what is new in 2005?

The new developments in the management of Barrett's esophagus in 2005 result in refinements of decision making. New techniques including magnification endoscopy have been used for real-time recognition of intestinal metaplasia but are not yet validated. The finding of BE in patients lacking GERD symptoms highlights the problems of developing screening criteria for the general population. Many experimental optical techniques are pushing the optical recognition of dysplasia to real time. Availability, cost and validation remain barriers to clinical application. Endoscopic mucosal resection is being more widely applied resulting in more accurate staging of patients with early adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and helping to define patients amenable to endoscopic therapy. The approval of photodynamic therapy for the treatment of high grade dysplasia adds to the non-operative therapeutic arsenal. The impact of medical therapy of GERD and anti-reflux surgery on the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma is disappointing. Technological developments and emerging efforts in chemoprevention offer promise for the future.