Acid suppression and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus: cause or cure?

In this issue El-Serag et al. present a retrospective study which shows that patients with Barrett's esophagus and no dysplasia who were prescribed PPIs had a lesser rate of developing dysplasia than patients who were not prescribed PPIs. Acid suppression has been proposed both as a cause and a cure for the "epidemic" of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, which has been noted in the United States. The article and the current evidence related to acid suppression and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus are reviewed.