Barrett's esophagus refers to an abnormal change or metaplasia in the cells of the lower portion of the esophagus. When the normal squamous epithelium lining of the esophagus is replaced by goblet cells, Barrett's esophagus is diagnosed. The medical significance of Barrett's esophagus is its strong association with esophageal adenocarcinoma, a particularly lethal cancer. In this book, the authors discuss the risk factors, diagnosis and management of Barrett's esophagus. Topics include chemoprevention strategies including aspirin and non-steriodal inflammatory agents in treating Barrett's esophagus; an endoscopic ablative technique used in the management of Barrett's esophagus and early esophageal cancer; a histopathological analysis of protease activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) immunoexpression in esophageal glandular metaplasia; and the impact of inflammation-metaplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence and inflammatory microenvironment in esophageal carcinogenesis using surgical rat models.

Barrett's esophagus refers to an abnormal change or metaplasia in the cells of the lower portion of the esophagus. When the normal squamous epithelium lining of the esophagus is replaced by goblet cells, Barrett's esophagus is diagnosed. The medical significance of Barrett's esophagus is its strong association with esophageal adenocarcinoma, a particularly lethal cancer. In this book, the authors discuss the risk factors, diagnosis and management of Barrett's esophagus. Topics include chemoprevention strategies including aspirin and non-steriodal inflammatory agents in treating Barrett's esophagus; an endoscopic ablative technique used in the management of Barrett's esophagus and early esophageal cancer; a histopathological analysis of protease activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) immunoexpression in esophageal glandular metaplasia; and the impact of inflammation-metaplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence and inflammatory microenvironment in esophageal carcinogenesis using surgical rat models.