Commentaries

Obesity and Barrett’s oesophagus: more than just reflux

Julian A Abrams^1,2

¹ Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
² Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Correspondence to:
^{Correspondence to} Dr Julian Abrams, 630 W 168th Street, Black 10-508, New York, NY 10032, USA; ja660@columbia.edu

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between obesity and an increased risk of various epithelial malignancies.¹ The factors underlying these associations are probably complex, and may relate to chronic inflammation, hyperinsulinaemia and increased production of adipokines and other adipose-derived hormones.² Obesity is also associated with an increased risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), an established risk factor for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. It is widely accepted that GORD is associated with and probably directly contributes to the development of Barrett’s oesophagus, the precursor lesion for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. It is not clear, however, whether obesity alone, independent of GORD, also plays a role in this metaplastic transformation.

In the article by Jacobson et al (see page 1460), data prospectively collected from the Nurses’ Health Study cohort were examined to study the relationship between obesity and Barrett’s oesophagus in women.³ More than 15 000 women who underwent upper endoscopy were included in . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Body mass index and Barrett’s oesophagus in women

B C Jacobson, A T Chan, E L Giovannucci, and C S Fuchs
Gut 2009 58: 1460-1466. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]