Mutational load predicts progression in patients with Barrett’s esophagus

Genetic mutations at several key loci predicted whether patients with Barrett’s esophagus who had no dysplasia or low-grade dysplasia at baseline would progress to high-grade dysplasia or esophageal adenocarcinoma, according to study results presented at Digestive Disease Week.“Barrett’s esophagus is a known precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma, which has a high mortality [rate],” Swathi Eluri, MD, gastroenterology fellow in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at University of North Carolina School of Medicine, told HemOnc Today. “We currently have inadequate methods of risk-stratifying patients with Barrett’s esophagus.”