Review of Barrett's esophagus : a ten year study.

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition which consists of columnar epithelium with intestinal metaplasia that predisposes to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). The incidence has risen at an alarming rate in Western regions; however there seems to be an increase in Asian populations, which has been rare. Despite advances in therapy, the prognosis is poor and mortality is high. In order to understand the current situation, this study aimed to analyse the demographic data and risk factors in SGH, Singapore. Epidemiology, histological information, follow-ups and clinical data were collected from databases and subsequently analysed. Occurrence rate was 19 BE cases per year and only 0.3 EAC cases per year. Males dominance was present with a mean age of 56. Disease progression increased with age regardless of distribution of goblet cells and overall prevalence was more common in younger Indians and Other races although prevalence in Singapore population was relatively low. Symptoms of esophagitis, GERD, dyspepsia, abdominal pain and raised HbA1c were seen. Given that 95% of EAC patients arise in individual without prior diagnosis of BE, standard protocol, genomic biomarker tests and complete clinical measurements and other preventative strategies needs to be proposed to overcome limitations and reduce late diagnosis.Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science