Abstract
Background Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition characterized by replacement
of the esophageal lining with metastatic columnar epithelium, and its management when
complicated by low grade dysplasia (LGD) is controversial. This systematic review
and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
in patients with LGD.
Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched for studies including patients
with BE-associated LGD receiving RFA (January 1990 to May 2017). The outcome measures
were complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM) and dysplasia (CE-D), rates
of progression to high grade dysplasia (HGD) or cancer, and recurrence.
Results Eight studies including 619 patients with LGD (RFA = 404, surveillance = 215) were
analyzed. After a median follow-up of 26 months (range 12 – 44 months), the overall
pooled rates of CE-IM and CE-D after RFA were 88.17 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]
88.13 % – 88.20 %; P < 0.001) and 96.69 % (95 %CI 96.67 % – 96.71 %; P < 0.001), respectively. When compared with surveillance, RFA resulted in significantly
lower rates of progression to HGD or cancer (odds ratio [OR] 0.07, 95 %CI 0.02 – 0.22).
The pooled recurrence rates of IM and dysplasia were 5.6 % (95 %CI 5.57 – 5.63; P < 0.001) and 9.66 % (95 %CI 9.61 – 9.71; P < 0.001), respectively.
Conclusions RFA safely eradicates IM and dysplasia and reduces the rates of progression from
LGD to HGD or cancer in the short term.
