Epidemiology of Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Carcinoma

Abstract

To care and treat patients with esophageal cancer, one must first understand the epidemiology of Barrett's esophagus (BE). BE is defined as the intestinal metaplasia occurring within the esophagus from normal squamous epithelium to abnormal specialized columnar epithelium. BE, while first described by Allison in 1948, was attributed to Norman Barrett in 1950, who reported a case of chronic peptic ulcer in the lower esophagus that was covered by columnar epithelium.

Keywords: Barrett's esophagus; Epidemiology; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal dysplasia; High-grade dysplasia; Low-grade dysplasia.