Is your indigestion simple acid reflux or the much more sinister Barretts Syndrome, also known as Barretts Esophagus ?

If you have had persistent heartburn, indigestion, difficulty swallowing or have acid reflux disease, you may need evaluation for a pre-malignant condition known as Barretts Syndrome.

Barretts Syndrome is the most severe aftermath of chronic acid reflux. The method by which this happens is unclear, but the tissue coating the lower esophagus is replaced by tissue that is more allied the tissue in the stomach. The esophagus is normally covered by squamous epithelium, but in Barretts Syndrome, this is replaced by columnar epithelium. The columnar epithelium is more resistant to the effects of the reflux of stomach acid.

This might appear like a good thing to guard the esophagus from the acid reflux but unfortunately, this has been shown to be a pre-malignant condition. Numerous studies have established the association between Barrett’s columnar epithelium and adenocarcinoma (cancer) of the esophagus. Therefore, the occurrence of Barretts Syndrome is considered a pre-cancerous condition.
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