[Barrett esophagus as precancerous lesion]

The incidence of Barrett's esophagus is still little known. Our objective has been to study the incidence of this lesion in our environment as well as the frequency of malignant degeneration in our endoscopic material. Among 12,450 upper digestive endoscopies done in the past 7 years, 945 instances of peptic esophagitis have been diagnosed (7.59%). Among them, 172 cases of endobrachiesophagus (Barrett's esophagus) were detected (1.38% of the entire endoscopy series and 18.2% of all cases of esophagitis). Twenty two of th 172 patients with Barrett's esophagus were diagnosed as having carcinoma (12.79%). Barrett's esophagus is a frequent complication of peptic esophagitis and as the possibilities of malignant changes are as high as 12.79 it should be considered as a precancerous lesion and monitored as such.