Magnifying chromoendoscopy for the detection of premalignant gastrointestinal lesions

The prognosis for patients with malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract is strictly dependent on the early detection of premalignant and malignant lesions. At present, endoscopy can be performed with new, powerful high-resolution or magnifying endoscopes. Comparable to the rapid development in chip technology, the optic features of the newly designed endoscopes offer resolutions that allow new mucosal surface details to be seen. In conjunction with chromoendoscopy, the newly discovered tool of video endoscopy is much easier to use and more impressive than previously used fibreoptic endoscopy. This review summarises the value of magnifying endoscopy in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract and focuses on gastroesophageal reflux disease and early gastric and colorectal cancer.