About the Study
The SURVENT Trial is a research study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to learn if one kind of treatment approach is better for treating patients with Barrett’s esophagus and low-grade dysplasia. The two treatments in this study are endoscopic surveillance and endoscopic eradication therapy.
What is Barrett's Esophagus?
Barrett’s esophagus is a condition where the inner lining of your esophagus becomes damaged due to chronic reflux.
Barrett’s esophagus can lead to dysplasia, or precancerous changes, which occurs when cells look abnormal but have not developed into cancer.
If the abnormal cells increase from being slightly abnormal (low-grade dysplasia), to being very abnormal (high-grade dysplasia), the risk of developing cancer (esophageal adenocarcinoma) goes up.
The risk of cancer in people who develop Barrett’s with low-grade dysplasia is still low (less than 1 person in 100 will develop cancer in any given year). Given this low risk, we don’t know whether it is better to treat this condition with a less aggressive treatment (endoscopic surveillance), or a more aggressive treatment (endoscopic eradication therapy).
Endoscopic surveillance involves performing endoscopy every 6 months to 1 year to monitor your condition. Only if your condition worsens to Barrett’s esophagus with high-grade dysplasia would any different treatments be used.
Endoscopic eradication therapy involves an endoscopy with a burning treatment of the inner lining of your esophagus. These burning treatments destroy the Barrett’s esophagus and allow the normal lining of the esophagus to grow back. This burning procedure is performed every two months until your Barrett’s esophagus is completely gone.
This study compares these two treatments for people with Barrett’s esophagus and LGD.
If you have Barrett’s esophagus and low-grade dysplasia, you may be able to take part in this study.
What happens in this study?
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We will review your medical records and results of any procedures you’ve had before related to your Barrett’s esophagus to make sure you are able to participate.
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If you are able and agree to participate, you will be randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to one of the two different treatments: endoscopic surveillance or endoscopic eradication therapy.
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Before your first upper endoscopy and throughout the study, we will ask you to complete questionnaires about your health, family, social and work history, and quality of life which will help us to learn which treatment is the better approach.
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We will also collect blood and spit samples, as well as brushings and biopsies of your Barrett’s esophagus to inform future research on possible early markers of cancer.