"Using Dilute Vinegar to Find Changes in Cells During Endoscopy for Patients With Barrett's Oesophagus" (The ABBA Study)

Problem statement Barrett's oesophagus is a pre-cancerous condition affecting 375,000 people in the U.K. There is a 0.5-3% yearly risk of progressing to oesophageal cancer, from which only 5% of patients will survive for 5 years after diagnosis. Diagnosing the disease at the stage of dysplasia (pre-cancerous) and early cancer improves survival. This has led to the current surveillance strategy of gastroscopy with non-targeted mapping biopsies taken from the Barrett's oesophagus every two years. The large number of biopsies required is time consuming and expensive, yet dysplasia and cancerous tissue is still missed due to the non-targeted biopsy sampling strategy. Acetic acid has been used effectively in the early detection of cervical dysplasia and cancer, and has also been used with success in a high risk Barrett's population (patients with suspected dysplasia or previously treated dysplasia), but not been studied in the lower risk Barrett's surveillance population. A diagnostic study of non-targeted mapping biopsies (current practice) versus targeted biopsies (acetic acid) in a surveillance population is needed before widespread adoption of this technique is possible.