Epidemiology of Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is an acquired condition resulting from chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is the precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). In North America, the incidence of EAC increased markedly between 1970 to 2005. Despite increased efforts to screen and follow BE patients with the goal of preventing or detecting EAC early, most EAC cases present with advanced disease. Observational studies have identified increasing age, male sex, white race, GERD, abdominal obesity, cigarette smoking, and lack of infection with Helicobacter pylori infection as the main risk factors for BE. This article summarizes the current epidemiology of BE and EAC.