Comparison of endoscopic and surgical resection of intramucosal carcinoma in Barrett's esophagus

Abstract

The optimal management of intramucosal carcinoma in Barrett's esophagus continues to be controversial. To date, there has not been a lot of research directly comparing endoscopic versus surgical management of intramucosal carcinoma. Previous studies have shown that both modalities to have excellent outcomes. The reviewed article is a matched retrospective cohort study from two high-volume centers, which shows both modalities to be effective, but an associated higher morbidity rate and risk for procedure-related mortality in the surgical group, and higher recurrence rate in the endoscopic therapy group. The study is discussed in the context of the current state of knowledge regarding Barrett's esophagus and intramucosal carcinoma, in particular outcomes and limitations of the present study.