Review Article
Antireflux Surgery for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Prevention: Is it Worth it?
Katherine E Perzan1,2 and Chin Hur1,2,3*
1Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
2Institute for Technology Assessment, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
3Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Corresponding Author:
- Chin Hur
Massachusetts General Hospital
101 Merrimac St, 10th floor
Boston, MA 02114, USA
Tel: (617)724-4411
Fax: (617)726-9414
Email: chur@mgh.harvard.edu
Received Date: May 26, 2014; Accepted Date: July 26, 2014; Published Date: Aug 02, 2014
Citation: Perzan Ek and Hur C (2014) Antireflux Surgery for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Prevention: Is it Worth it?. J Gastroint Dig Syst 4:199. doi:10.4172/2161-069X.1000199
Copyright: © 2014 Perzan EK, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Barrett’s esophagus is considered a premalignant condition with an annual risk of progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma of 0.1% to 0.3%. Those patients who experience symptoms of reflux have a further increased rate of malignant transformation. Currently, management of gastroesophageal reflux disease consists of acid suppression therapy with antacids, histamine-2 blockers or proton pump inhibitors. Patients who fail medical management may consider antireflux surgery, namely fundoplication. Given the relationship between reflux, Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma, the question arises whether patients with Barrett’s esophagus would benefit from antireflux surgery as a primary cancer prevention strategy. Here, we discuss the benefits and risks of antireflux medications and antireflux surgery, and in so doing attempt to answer the question: Should antireflux surgery be recommended for patients with BE, solely for EAC prevention?
