Endoscopic submucosal dissection compared to endoscopic mucosal resection for early Barrett esophagus neoplasia

Endoscopic resection has become an invaluable diagnostic and therapeutic tool in the evaluation and management of early Barrett esophagus (BE) neoplasia. While endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is the current standard of care for the resection of nodular early BE neoplasia, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been recently introduced as part of the armamentarium in the treatment of these lesions. The potential advantages of ESD compared to EMR include higher en-bloc and R0 resection rates, decreased local recurrence, and the procurement of large en-bloc specimens that may facilitate pathologic staging. On the other hand, EMR is less time-consuming and has been traditionally associated with a lower incidence of serious adverse events when compared to ESD. At present, the choice of the endoscopic resection technique hinges on operator’s preferences, patient and lesions characteristics and available local expertise. Future high-quality studies comparing clinical outcomes between ESD and EMR are needed to better define their roles in the management of early BE neoplasia.