4th National Symposium into Barrett’s Oesophagus

Barrett’s Oesophagus Campaign recently held its fourth successful symposium on research progress in Barrett’s Oesophagus with a keynote scientific speech by Professor Dinjens of Rotterdam.

The keynote speech discussed genomic aberrations in Barrett’s Oesophagus, among other talks covering the clinical, economic, health-related and scientific aspects of the condition. The afternoon saw a presentation of posters and research papers with prizes for best submissions for a lay-audience.

To see the programme, download the PDF (108k) here.

Ongoing research

There are currently the following ongoing research programmes into Barrett’s Oesophagus:

• A study to identify Barrett’s Oesophagus susceptibility genes, funded by the Association for International Cancer Research
• A study into blood group distribution in Barrett’s patients
• A study into the causes of mortality in Barrett’s patients

Aspirin & Barrett's Oesophagus

Treatment of Barrett’s Oesophagus using common aspirin is discussed in the European Journal of Cancer.

Please see: Aspirin is not chemoprotective for Barrett's Adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus in multicentre cohort, PA Gatenby, JR Ramus, CP Caygill, MC WInslet, A Watson, European Journal Cancer, Volume 18, no 5 September 09, pp381-4.

New data on Halo RFT

Patients with dysplastic Barrett's Oesophagus who were treated with radiofrequency ablation were more likely to have complete eradication of dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia and less likely to progress to more severe dysplasia or cancer, a study published in New England Journal found.

Currently Radio Frequency Ablation using the HALO System is offered in about seven hospitals in the UK. 

You can acquire more information from SynMed Limited. And Radiofrequency Ablation is further discussed in this article in Science Centric.

Awareness Day launched

The Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons has launched its National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Awareness Campaign.

The campaign, including an Awareness Day on 23 April, aims to raise awareness of the signs, symptoms, prevention and management of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) disease – in particular, Oesophageal and gastric cancers. Click here for more info