Do 40% of patients resected for barrett esophagus with high-grade dysplasia have unsuspected adenocarcinoma?

Results of studies conducted in the last 2 decades suggest that the detection of high-grade dysplasia in patients with Barrett esophagus is the harbinger of a synchronous adenocarcinoma, which remains undetected even by rigorous biopsy protocols but is discovered during resection of the esophagus. The reported prevalence of synchronous carcinomas ranges from 0% to 75%. Other researchers maintain that appropriate surveillance programs can be used to detect carcinomas at a curable stage and to prevent unnecessary esophagectomies. Both logistical difficulties and potential methodological pitfalls have plagued many studies designed to investigate this issue. A large multicenter study that would stratify participants for hitherto unexplored variables (eg, age, gender, and ethnic background) may be required before the 40% occult cancer prevalence can be either confirmed or refuted. However, the large scale needed for such a study to provide reliable data and new developments in endoscopic imaging (eg, magnification endoscopy and optical coherence tomography) and endoscopic therapy (eg, mucosectomy) are likely to make such a study both ethically unacceptable and logistically and financially unfeasible. Future research should utilize the combination of new endoscopic technologies with the continuing search for validated biomarkers that help predict the biological behavior of Barrett epithelium in individual patients, with a particular focus on the possible development of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions. Pathologists who chose to shift their focus from the traditional morphological investigation of dysplasia to the search for usable biomarkers can position themselves at the center of innovative research projects that could radically modify the management of patients with Barrett esophagus.