Definition:

Barrett esophagus (BE) is the premalignant lesion of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) defined as specialized intestinal metaplasia (SIM) of the tubular esophagus. According to some studies, the incidence of the esophageal adenocarcinoma in patients with BE is of about 0.5% per year. The major pathogenetic factor in the development of BE is represented by the gastroesophageal reflux disease. BE is characterized by the replacement of the normal squamous epithelium with the columnar epithelium, when the healing of the lesion occurs. Because only a minority of patients (around 10-15%) with gastroesophageal reflux disease have BE, additional factors that play important roles in determining the development of BE must concur. Another frequent association with BE, is represented by nitrate, an increased age, Caucasian race, male sex and hiatal hernia. Recently, it has been reported that mutations in MSR1, ASCC1, and CTHRC1 are associated with this disease.