Alternative titles and symbols : Barrett metaplasia;
Included titles and symbols : Adenocarcinoma of esophagus;
Description : Barrett esophagus, or Barrett metaplasia, describes the phenotypic change of normal
esophageal squamous epithelium to a columnar and intestinal-type epithelium. This
metaplastic change is important because patients with Barrett esophagus have an increased
risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. The main cause of Barrett metaplasia is gastroesophageal
reflux (GER; 109350). The retrograde movement of acid and bile salts from the stomach
into the esophagus in this disease causes prolonged injury to the esophageal epithelium
and induces chronic esophagitis, which in turn is believed to trigger the pathologic
changes (summary by Wong et al., 2005).;