Update on Barrett's esophagus

Barrett's esophagus (BE), the acquired replacement of squamous epithelium lining the distal esophagus by columnar epithelium containing goblet cells, is a consequence of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease. Endoscopic surveillance aims at the timely recognition and treatment of patients developing neoplastic BE. Recently, several new modalities for the diagnosis and treatment of neoplastic BE have been introduced, e.g. virtual chromoendoscopy and radiofrequency ablation. In this article current knowledge on the clinical impact of these techniques will be discussed. Furthermore, this article gives an overview of recent findings concerning the development of BE and the malignant transformation.