Non-Endoscopic Surveillance for Barrett's Esophagus Following Ablative Therapy

Inclusion Criteria

• Male or female subjects, age 18-80 years,
• Meets the following:

2.1. Previous diagnosis of Barrett's Esophagus (BE) with dysplastic low grade dysplasia (LGD) or high grade dysplasia (HGD), as evidenced by both classical endoscopic appearance of salmon-colored mucosa in the tubular esophagus, as well as endoscopic biopsies from the involved areas demonstrating columnar metaplasia with goblet cells. The diagnosis of dysplasia must have been confirmed by a second expert pathologist. Previous endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of focal nodular high grade dysplasia (HGD) or superficial intramucosal cancer (IMC) is allowable, as long as the EMR specimen shows complete resection of any IMC with clear margins, and biopsies following ablation confirm excision of the lesion, AND 2.1.1. A history of complete eradication of both dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia by radiofrequency ablation. Complete eradication is defined as a normal endoscopic appearance of the tubular esophagus, and histologic confirmation by biopsies in 4 quadrants every cm from throughout the length of the previous BE (post-RFA cohort).OR 2.2. Current diagnosis of BE, presenting for routine care endoscopy (BE cohort).

• Good general health, with no severely debilitating diseases, active malignancy, or condition that would interfere with study participation.

Exclusion Criteria

• Current use of blood thinners such as coumadin, warfarin, clopidogrel, heparin and/or low molecular weight heparin (requires discontinuation of medication 5 days prior to and 7 days after esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and Cytosponge administration, aspirin use is OK).
• Known bleeding disorder
• For the post-RFA cohort, prior ablative therapy of the esophagus other than radiofrequency ablation (RFA), including photodynamic therapy (PDT), more than one session of spray cryotherapy, and any other ablation therapies is exclusionary. However, prior endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is acceptable and up to two prior treatments of thermal/coagulation therapy (other than RFA) for focal residual disease following otherwise successful RFA therapy is acceptable.
• History of esophageal stricture precluding passage of the endoscope or sponge,
• Pregnancy, or planned pregnancy during the course of the study,
• Any history of esophageal varices, liver impairment of moderate or worse severity (Child's- Pugh class B & C) or evidence of varices noted on any past endoscopy,
• Any history of esophageal surgery, except for uncomplicated fundoplication, and,
• History of coagulopathy, with international normalized ratio (INR) >1.3 and/or platelet count of <75,000.