Barrett's Esophagus Information for Clinicians at BÂRRX Medical

DEMOGRAPHICS OF BARRETT'S ESOPHAGUS

Barrett's esophagus occurs as a result of chronic, pathologic reflux of gastro-duodenal contents into the esophagus. The diagnosis is made by endoscopy with biopsy. Histologically, Barrett's esophagus is a metaplastic change in the distal esophageal lining from the normal squamous epithelium to intestinalized columnar epithelium (intestinal metaplasia or IM).¹⁹ Barrett's esophagus is classified histologically as either non-dysplastic IM (hereafter IM), low-grade dysplasia (IM-LGD) or high-grade dysplasia (IM-HGD).

INCIDENCE

In a study published in 2005, Barrett's esophagus prevalence was estimated to affect 3.3 million adults over 50 years of age in the United States^2,3,14
The prevalence of Barrett's esophagus in the adult population is 0.4% to 1.3%, although recent reports from gastroenterology-selected populations suggest a higher prevalence⁵

BARRETT'S AND ESOPHAGEAL ADENOCARCINOMA

From 1975 to 2001, the frequency of esophageal adenocarcinoma rose approximately six-fold in the U.S. from 4 to 23 cases per million people. At the same time, the rate of deaths due to this form of esophageal cancer has grown by seven-fold, from 2 to 15 deaths per million people⁴
Patients with Barrett's esophagus have an increased risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma,⁶ 30 to 125 times higher than patients without this condition⁷
The American Cancer Society estimates that during 2007 approximately 15,560 new esophageal cancer cases will be diagnosed⁸
Even with aggressive therapy, the 5-year survival rate from adenocarcinoma is only approximately 17%⁸

GERD AND BARRETT'S ESOPHAGUS

Approximately 13% of Caucasian men over the age of 50, who have chronic reflux, will develop Barrett’s esophagus⁴
In a study conducted by the Veteran Affairs Health Care System and Stanford University, 25% of patients over 50 years old without GERD symptoms were found to have Barrett's esophagus¹⁴
GERD is common in the U.S. adult population. Symptoms of GERD, including heartburn, occur monthly in almost 44% of U.S. adults and weekly in 18%¹⁶

References