Clinical Research Directory

Endoscopic Biopsy Techniques in Barrett's Esophagus Patients

Sponsor: St. Antonius Hospital

Summary

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition of the distal esophagus, predisposing to dysplasia and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Therefore, in BE patients, current guidelines recommend endoscopic surveillance with four-quadrant biopsies every 2 centimeters of the Barrett's length. These biopsies need to be of optimal quality for adequate histopathological assessment. Larger biopsies can facilitate adequate histopathological assessment because (1) more tissue is available, (2) larger biopsies usually result in less superficial biopsies, with all mucosal layers present in the biopsy specimen, and (3) larger biopsies will ease orientation of the specimen. In a pilot study, the investigators found a median increase of nearly 30% in surface area when the biopsies were obtained by BE-expert endoscopists in comparison with non BE-expert endoscopists. A possible explanation for this difference can be biopsy method or technique. BE-expert endoscopists use the single biopsy method and turn-and-suction technique, whereas the double biopsy method and the advance-and-close technique are the more generally used biopsy techniques within non BE-expert endoscopists. The BITE study is therefore designed to identify the preferred biopsy technique and method in BE patients in order to optimise biopsy quality and histopathological assessment.

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