When Barrett's esophagus progresses to esophageal adenocarcinoma with early submucosal invasion, the balance between endoscopic and surgical management becomes a central clinical question. For a defined low-risk subgroup, an endoscopic-first approach is supported by evidence.
DOI: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000001680
Observational data suggest that EET may be a viable alternative to esophagectomy for patients with T1b EAC with superficial submucosal invasion (sm1—invasion into the upper third of the submucosa to a depth <500 mm) and low-risk features such as deep margin negative, well-moderate differentiation and no lymphovascular invasion.
Contemporary practice includes endoscopic resection (ER) of any visible lesion within the BE segment, followed by ablative techniques such as RFA and cryotherapy to achieve complete eradication of dysplasia (CED) and IM (CEIM).
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