Madhav Desai1, Shreyas Saligram1, Neil Gupta2, Prashanth Vennalaganti1, Ajay Bansal3, Abhishek Choudhary3, Sreekar Vennelaganti3, Jianghua He4, Mohammad Titi3, Roberta Maselli5, Bashar Qumseya6, Mojtaba Olyaee1, Irwing Waxman7, Alessandro Repici5, Cesare Hassan5, Prateek Sharma8. 1. Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA. 2. Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA. 3. Department of Gastroenterology, Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. 4. Department of Biostatistics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA. 5. Department of Gastroenterology, Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Milan, Italy. 6. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Archbold Medical Group/Florida State University, Thomasville, Georgia, USA. 7. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences, Chicago, Illinois, USA. 8. Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA; Department of Gastroenterology, Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Focal EMR followed by radiofrequency ablation (f-EMR + RFA) and stepwise or complete EMR (s-EMR) are established strategies for eradication of Barrett's esophagus (BE)-related high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and/or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC)/intramucosal carcinoma (IMC). The objective of this study was to derive pooled rates of efficacy and safety of individual methods in a large cohort of patients with BE and to indirectly compare the 2 methods. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and major conference proceedings were searched. A systematic review and pooled analysis were carried out to determine the following outcomes in patients with BE undergoing either f-EMR + RFA or s-EMR: (1) complete eradication rates of neoplasia (CE-N) and intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM); (2) recurrence rates of cancer (EAC), dysplasia, and IM; (3) incidence rates of adverse events. Mixed logistic regression was performed as an exploratory analysis to examine differences in outcomes between the 2 methods. RESULTS: Nine studies (774 patients) of f-EMR + RFA and 11 studies (751 patients) of s-EMR were included. Patients undergoing f-EMR + RFA had high BE eradication rates (CE-N, 93.4%; CE-IM, 73.1%), whereas strictures occurred in 10.2%, bleeding in 1.1%, and perforations in 0.2% of patients. Recurrence of EAC, dysplasia, and IM was 1.4%, 2.6%, and 16.1%, respectively, in this group. Patients undergoing s-EMR also showed high BE eradication rates (CE-N, 94.9%; CE-IM, 79.6%) but a higher rate of adverse events (strictures in 33.5%, bleeding in 7.5%, and perforation in 1.3%). Recurrence of EAC, dysplasia, and IM was 0.7%, 3.3%, and 12.1%, respectively, in the s-EMR group. Mixed logistic regression showed that patients undergoing s-EMR might be more likely to develop esophageal strictures (odds ratio [OR], 4.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.61-13.85; P = .005), perforation (OR, 7.00; 95% CI, 1.56-31.33; P = .01), and bleeding (OR, 6.88; 95% CI, 2.19-21.62; P = 0.001) compared with f-EMR + RFA. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with HGD/EAC, f-EMR followed by RFA seems to be equally effective as and safer than s-EMR.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Focal EMR followed by radiofrequency ablation (f-EMR + RFA) and stepwise or complete EMR (s-EMR) are established strategies for eradication of Barrett's esophagus (BE)-related high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and/or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC)/intramucosal carcinoma (IMC). The objective of this study was to derive pooled rates of efficacy and safety of individual methods in a large cohort of patients with BE and to indirectly compare the 2 methods. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and major conference proceedings were searched. A systematic review and pooled analysis were carried out to determine the following outcomes in patients with BE undergoing either f-EMR + RFA or s-EMR: (1) complete eradication rates of neoplasia (CE-N) and intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM); (2) recurrence rates of cancer (EAC), dysplasia, and IM; (3) incidence rates of adverse events. Mixed logistic regression was performed as an exploratory analysis to examine differences in outcomes between the 2 methods. RESULTS: Nine studies (774 patients) of f-EMR + RFA and 11 studies (751 patients) of s-EMR were included. Patients undergoing f-EMR + RFA had high BE eradication rates (CE-N, 93.4%; CE-IM, 73.1%), whereas strictures occurred in 10.2%, bleeding in 1.1%, and perforations in 0.2% of patients. Recurrence of EAC, dysplasia, and IM was 1.4%, 2.6%, and 16.1%, respectively, in this group. Patients undergoing s-EMR also showed high BE eradication rates (CE-N, 94.9%; CE-IM, 79.6%) but a higher rate of adverse events (strictures in 33.5%, bleeding in 7.5%, and perforation in 1.3%). Recurrence of EAC, dysplasia, and IM was 0.7%, 3.3%, and 12.1%, respectively, in the s-EMR group. Mixed logistic regression showed that patients undergoing s-EMR might be more likely to develop esophageal strictures (odds ratio [OR], 4.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.61-13.85; P = .005), perforation (OR, 7.00; 95% CI, 1.56-31.33; P = .01), and bleeding (OR, 6.88; 95% CI, 2.19-21.62; P = 0.001) compared with f-EMR + RFA. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with HGD/EAC, f-EMR followed by RFA seems to be equally effective as and safer than s-EMR.