| Abstract: | Recent advances in technology enable us to obtain more detailed information during endoscopic procedures. Diagnosis of the pit pattern or microvascular architecture allow the earlier detection of neoplastic lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. These advances have led to the enhanced selection of appropriate treatments. Cancers that are discovered at an early stage can be treated by mucosal resection, whereas advanced cancers are treated with surgery. Recently, some groups have tried to acquire direct in vivo histological images of gastrointestinal mucosa (virtual histology or optical biopsy). Now optical coherence tomography (OCT), confocal laser endoscopy and endo‐cytoscopy systems enable this conception. However, none of these techniques has been proven, although some investigators have been able to use them to enhance cancer detection, and have reported the usefulness of these techniques. The present review assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these technologies, and describes the magnifying observations of the upper gastrointestinal tract using magnifying endoscopy equipment available on the market as well as newly developed endo‐cytoscopy systems. Published and unpublished data for this review were identified by searches of MEDLINE, Register of Cancer Trials: National Cancer Institute ( http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov/ ) and references from relevant articles. We also contacted researchers. The authors’ own database of references was also used. The search items were as follows: magnifying endoscopy, endo‐cytoscopy system, confocal endoscopy, optical coherence tomography, contact endoscopy, esophageal cancer, Barrett’s esophagus, Barrett’s esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, chromoendoscopy, methylene blue etc. |
