Screening for Barrett's esophagus

Barrett's esophagus (BE) increases the risk for development of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Because of the rapid rise in incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma, screening for BE with subsequent surveillance when found has been proposed as a method of early detection. Sedated endoscopy, however, is too expensive for widespread screening. As a result, other techniques, including unsedated transnasal esophagoscopy and capsule esophagoscopy, have been proposed to expand screening programs.