Current status of surveillance for Barrett's esophagus in Japan and the West

Prospective studies in western countries have shown that the obvious risk factors for Barrett's esophageal cancer are male sex, smoking habit, a longer length of Barrett's esophagus, and low-grade dysplasia. However, few reports have prospectively examined risk factors for adenocarcinoma development from Barrett's esophagus in Japan. In the West, where adenocarcinoma is common among esophageal cancer, endoscopic surveillance of Barrett's esophagus every 2-5 years is recommended for early detection of adenocarcinoma. However, there is no established surveillance method in Japan. In recent years, the incidence of adenocarcinoma from long-segment Barrett's esophagus and short-segment Barrett's esophagus longer than 2 cm in Japan has been reported to be similar to the West. For surveillance of adenocarcinoma arising from Barrett's esophagus, recognizing the characteristics of superficial adenocarcinoma and carefully observing the entire Barrett's esophagus are needed. It has been reported that representative characteristics of Barrett's adenocarcinoma are a reddish area or a lesion located on the anterior to the right sidewall. It is necessary to establish surveillance methods for Barrett's esophagus sooner in Japan.