Search

1:  The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) adheres to the overarching principles of equality of opportunity, fair treatment, nondiscrimination, and diversity of health care professionals. 2:  ESGE strongly supports the creation of collaborations within and between national and international endoscopy societies to disseminate the principles of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) in the field of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. 3:  ESGE aims to reflect the diversity of its membership in all its scientific and educational activities. 4:  ESGE supports the fostering of collaborative work settings that empower all members of the endoscopy team to reach their full potential. 5:  ESGE supports international and national endoscopy societies in promoting equitable access to high quality endoscopy training. 6:  ESGE recommends the implementation of ergonomic principles in endoscopy units to prevent injuries and to provide adapted workplace conditions for personnel with disabilities and/or special needs. 7:  ESGE recommends comprehensive mentorship, that includes diverse backgrounds, and equitable sponsorship for professional development, training, and academic excellence. 8:  ESGE recommends that endoscopists actively identify, discuss, and attempt to accommodate reasonable patient preferences and expectations regarding endoscopy procedures. 9:  ESGE advocates for educational and awareness campaigns targeting both health care professionals and patients, as well as the adoption of cost-effective health care strategies to address disparities and enhance equity in endoscopy care. 10:  ESGE is committed to increasing support for underrepresented scholars and minorities pursuing research in endoscopy. 11:  ESGE identifies mentorship and sponsorship as factors that may mitigate the barriers to academic careers for underrepresented endoscopy scholars. 12:  ESGE recognizes the need to increase awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the field of endoscopy and supports publications on these topics., Competing Interests: No competing interests have been declared by any author., (European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. All rights reserved.)

1:  ESGE recommends cold snare polypectomy (CSP), to include a clear margin of normal tissue (1-2 mm) surrounding the polyp, for the removal of diminutive polyps (≤ 5 mm).Strong recommendation, high quality of evidence. 2:  ESGE recommends against the use of cold biopsy forceps excision because of its high rate of incomplete resection.Strong recommendation, moderate quality of evidence. 3:  ESGE recommends CSP, to include a clear margin of normal tissue (1-2 mm) surrounding the polyp, for the removal of small polyps (6-9 mm).Strong recommendation, high quality of evidence. 4:  ESGE recommends hot snare polypectomy for the removal of nonpedunculated adenomatous polyps of 10-19 mm in size.Strong recommendation, high quality of evidence. 5:  ESGE recommends conventional (diathermy-based) endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for large (≥ 20 mm) nonpedunculated adenomatous polyps (LNPCPs).Strong recommendation, high quality of evidence. 6:  ESGE suggests that underwater EMR can be considered an alternative to conventional hot EMR for the treatment of adenomatous LNPCPs.Weak recommendation, moderate quality of evidence. 7:  Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) may also be suggested as an alternative for removal of LNPCPs of ≥ 20 mm in selected cases and in high-volume centers.Weak recommendation, low quality evidence. 8:  ESGE recommends that, after piecemeal EMR of LNPCPs by hot snare, the resection margins should be treated by thermal ablation using snare-tip soft coagulation to prevent adenoma recurrence.Strong recommendation, high quality of evidence. 9:  ESGE recommends (piecemeal) cold snare polypectomy or cold EMR for SSLs of all sizes without suspected dysplasia.Strong recommendation, moderate quality of evidence. 10:  ESGE recommends prophylactic endoscopic clip closure of the mucosal defect after EMR of LNPCPs in the right colon to reduce to reduce the risk of delayed bleeding.Strong recommendation, high quality of evidence. 11:  ESGE recommends that en bloc resection techniques, such as en bloc EMR, ESD, endoscopic intermuscular dissection, endoscopic full-thickness resection, or surgery should be the techniques of choice in cases with suspected superficial invasive carcinoma, which otherwise cannot be removed en bloc by standard polypectomy or EMR.Strong recommendation, moderate quality of evidence., Competing Interests: R. Bisschops has been on the advisory boards of Pentax, Medtronic, Fujifilm, Cook, Boston Scientific, and Olympus, and has received speaker’s fees from Pentax, Medtronic, and Fujifilm; his department has received research grants, and organizational support for events from Pentax and Medtronic, and further organizational support for events from Erbe, Ovesco, and Olympus (all within the last 3 years). M.J. Bourke has received research support from Cook Medical and Olympus (2014 to date). E. Dekker has provided consultancy to Olympus and GI supply (several occasions in recent years). M. Dinis-Ribeiro has provided consultancy to Medtronic and Roche (2021 to 2022) and received a research grant from Fujifilm (2021 to 2022). H. Messmann has provided consultancy to Ambu, Boston Scientific, and Olympus (2022 to date); his department has received research support from Olympus and Satisfai (2022 to date). L. Moons has provided consultancy to Boston Scientific and Pentax (2024 to date) and is a member of the Colorectal cancer guideline committee and chair of the Dutch Guideline group on polypectomy in the rectum and colon. M. Pellisé has provided consultancy to Norgine Iberia (2015 to 2019), GI supply (2019), Fujifilm Europe (2021 to date), and Olympus (2022 to date), and received research support from Fujifilm Spain (2019), Fujifilm Europe (2020 to 2021), Casen recordati (2020), and ZuiZ (2021); her department has also received equipment on loan from Fujifilm Europe (2019 to date); she was on the Endoscopy editorial board (2015 to 2021), was ESGE Equity and diversity working group chair (2021 to 2022), councillor for SEED (2016 to 2022), and is president of AEG (2022 to date). G. Rahmi has provided consultancy to Fujifilm and Medtronic (2023 to date). A. Repici has received consultancy fees and research funding from ERBE (2020 to date) and Fujifilm (2018 to date), and speaker’s and consultancy fees, and research funding from Boston Scientific (2019 to date). M. Rutter is a member of the British Society of Gastroenterology and is the current Chair of the Joint Advisory Group for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Y. Takeuchi has provided consultancy to Boston Scientific Japan (2012 to 2022) and has received speaker’s fees from Olympus, Daiichi-Sankyo, Miyarisan Pharmaceutical, Asuka Pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca, EA Pharma, Zeria Pharmaceutical, Fujifilm, Kaneka Medix, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, and the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society. H. Uchima Koecklin has received proctorship and speaker’s fees from ERBE Spain and Olympus Iberia (2022 to 2023). E. Albeniz, A. Amato, H. Awadie, P. Bhandari, M. Ferlitsch, I. Gralnek, C. Hassan R. Jover, D. Libanio, V. Lorenzo-Zuniga, A. Moss, G. Paspatis, A. Probst, M. Risio, L.-M. Rockenbauer, K. Triantafyllou, A. Voiosu, and E. Waldmann declare that they have no conflict of interest., (European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. All rights reserved.)

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing, degenerative, multifactorial disease that is associated with many co-morbidities. The global increasing burden of obesity has led to calls for an urgent need for additional treatment options. Given the rapid expansion of bariatric endoscopy and bariatric surgery across Europe, the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) has recognized the need to formalize and enhance training in bariatric endoscopy and the endoscopic treatment of bariatric surgical adverse events. This manuscript represents the outcome of a formal Delphi process resulting in an official Position Statement of the ESGE and provides a framework to develop and maintain skills in bariatric endoscopy and the endoscopic treatment of bariatric surgical adverse events. This curriculum is set out in terms of the prerequisites prior to training, minimum number of procedures, the steps for training and quality of training, and how competence should be defined and evidenced before independent practice. 1: ESGE recommends that every endoscopist should have achieved competence in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy before commencing training in bariatric endoscopy and the endoscopic treatment of bariatric surgical adverse events. 2: Trainees in bariatric endoscopy and the endoscopic treatment of the complications of bariatric surgery should have basic knowledge of the definition, classification, and social impact of obesity, its pathophysiology, and its related co-morbidities. The recognition and management of gastrointestinal diseases that are more common in patients with obesity, along with participation in multidisciplinary teams where obese patients are evaluated, are mandatory. 3 : ESGE recommends that competency in bariatric endoscopy and the endoscopic treatment of the complications of bariatric surgery can be learned by attending validated training courses on simulators initially, structured training courses, and then hands-on training in tertiary referral centers., Competing Interests: R. Bisschops has received grants/research support and speaker’s fees from Pentax, Fujifilm, and Medtronic (2019, ongoing). I. Boskoski has received consultancy fees from Apollo Endosurgery, EndoTools, and Nitinotes (2021, ongoing). R. Haidry has received educational and research support from Medtronic (2019–2021) and funding to support research infrastructure from Pentax (2018–2022) and Fractyl (2017–2019). M. Hollenbach has received fees for lectures and expert panel membership from Fujifilm (2020–2023). V. Huberty has been a shareholder in EndoTools (since 2015) and has received consultancy fees (2019). R. Maselli has received consultancy fees from Apollo Endosurgery (2020, ongoing). E. Pérez-Cuadrado-Robles has received consultancy fees from Boston Scientific (2020, ongoing). V. Pontecorvi has received support for clinical studies from Apollo Endosurgery, EndoTools, and Nitinotes (2018, ongoing). S. Gölder, M. Ibrahim, J. Kral, H. Messmann, Á. V. Patai, J. Samanta, M. Silva, and T.C. Tham declare that they have no conflict of interest., (European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. All rights reserved.)

Background: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients are at increased risk for thromboembolic events. It is unclear whether the risk for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is also increased., Methods: We considered 4128 COVID-19 patients enrolled in the Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2 (LEOSS) registry. The association between occurrence of GI bleeding and comorbidities as well as medication were examined. In addition, 1216 patients from COKA registry were analyzed focusing on endoscopy diagnostic findings., Results: A cumulative number of 97 patients (1.8%) with GI bleeding were identified in the LEOSS registry and COKA registry. Of 4128 patients from the LEOSS registry, 66 patients (1.6%) had a GI bleeding. The rate of GI bleeding in patients with intensive care unit (ICU) admission was 4.5%. The use of therapeutic dose of anticoagulants showed a significant association with the increased incidence of bleeding in the critical phase of disease. The Charlson comorbidity index and the COVID-19 severity index were significantly higher in the group of patients with GI bleeding than in the group of patients without GI bleeding (5.83 (SD = 2.93) vs. 3.66 (SD = 3.06), p < 0.01 and 3.26 (SD = 1.69) vs. 2.33 (SD = 1.53), p < 0.01, respectively). In the COKA registry 31 patients (2.5%) developed a GI bleeding. Of these, the source of bleeding was identified in upper GI tract in 21 patients (67.7%) with ulcer as the most frequent bleeding source (25.8%, n = 8) followed by gastroesophageal reflux (16.1%, n = 5). In three patients (9.7%) GI bleeding source was located in lower GI tract caused mainly by diverticular bleeding (6.5%, n = 2). In seven patients (22.6%) the bleeding localization remained unknown., Conclusion: Consistent with previous research, comorbidities and disease severity correlate with the incidence of GI bleeding. Also, therapeutic anticoagulation seems to be associated with a higher risk of GI bleeding. Overall, the risk of GI bleeding seems not to be increased in COVID-19 patients., (© 2021 The Authors. United European Gastroenterology Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of United European Gastroenterology.)

The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) has developed performance measures and established a framework for quality assessment for gastrointestinal endoscopy in Europe. Most national societies actively undertake initiatives to implement and explicitly endorse these quality indicators. Given this, ESGE proposes that, at a national level, strong leadership should exist to disseminate and implement quality parameters. Thus, understanding the potential barriers that may vary locally is of paramount importance. ESGE suggests that each national society should prioritize quality and standards of care in gastrointestinal endoscopy in their activities and should survey/understand which measures are a local priority to their members and make measuring quality intrinsic to daily endoscopy practice., Competing Interests: R. Bisschops is supported by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and has provided consultancy and received speakerʼs fees and research support from Norgine, Pentax Europe, and Fujifilm (2017 to present). M. Dinis-Ribeiro received research grants from Olympus and Fujifilm (2018 to present). M.F. Kaminski has provided speaking, teaching, and consultancy services to Olympus (2017 to present), and speaking and teaching services to Fujifilm, from whom he also has equipment on loan (2019 to present). C. Spada provided consultancy to Medtronic (2017 – 2020). M. Areia, A. Dignass D. Domagk, P. Fockens, I.M. Gralnek, C. Hassan, W. Khanoussi, H. Messmann, T. Ponchon, M.D. Rutter and A. Veitch declare that they have no conflict of interest., (European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. All rights reserved.)

The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) has developed performance measures and established a framework for quality assessment for gastrointestinal endoscopy in Europe. Most national societies actively undertake initiatives to implement and explicitly endorse these quality indicators. Given this, the ESGE proposes that, at a national level, strong leadership should exist to disseminate and implement quality parameters. Thus, understanding the potential barriers that may vary locally is of paramount importance. The ESGE suggests that each national society should prioritise quality and standards of care in gastrointestinal endoscopy in their activities and should survey/understand which measures area local priority to their members and make measuring quality intrinsic to daily endoscopy practice., (This article is published simultaneously in the journals Endoscopy and the United European Gastroenterology Journal. Copyright 2020 © European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and © by the United European Gastroenterology.)

In Europe at present, but also in 2040, 1 in 3 cancer-related deaths are expected to be caused by digestive cancers. Endoscopic technologies enable diagnosis, with relatively low invasiveness, of precancerous conditions and early cancers, thereby improving patient survival. Overall, endoscopy capacity must be adjusted to facilitate both effective screening programs and rigorous control of the quality assurance and surveillance systems required. 1 : For average-risk populations, ESGE recommends the implementation of organized population-based screening programs FOR COLORECTAL CANCER: , based on fecal immunochemical testing (FIT), targeting individuals, irrespective of gender, aged between 50 and 75 years. Depending on local factors, namely the adherence of the target population and availability of endoscopy services, primary screening by colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy may also be recommendable. 2 : In high-risk populations, endoscopic screening FOR GASTRIC CANCER: should be considered for individuals aged more than 40 years. Its use in countries/regions with intermediate risk may be considered on the basis of local settings and availability of endoscopic resources. 3 : For esophageal and pancreatic cancer, endoscopic screening may be considered only in high-risk individuals:- FOR SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA: , in those with a personal history of head/neck cancer, achalasia, or previous caustic injury; - FOR BARRETT'S ESOPHAGUS (BE)-ASSOCIATED ADENOCARCINOMA: , in those with long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms (i. e., > 5 years) and multiple risk factors (age ≥ 50 years, white race, male sex, obesity, first-degree relative with BE or esophageal adenocarcinoma [EAC]). - FOR PANCREATIC CANCER SCREENING: , endoscopic ultrasound may be used in selected high-risk patients such as those with a strong family history and/or genetic susceptibility., Competing Interests: R. Bisschops has received research grants from Pentax, Fujifilm, Cook, and Medtronic; he has been/is on advisory boards for Pentax, Fujifilm, Cook, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and CDX Diagnostic; he has been a speaker for Pentax, Fujifilm, Medtronic, and Medivators; he has received organizational support for educational events from Pentax, and organizational and financial support for educational events from Cook, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Erbe, and Olympus. E. Dekker has received honoraria from Fujifilm, Olympus, Tillots, and GI Supply, and speaker’s fees from CPP-FAP and Olympus; she is a Co-Editor of Endoscopy journal. H. Messmann has received, in the past 3 years: grants from the Falk Foundation, Olympus, Roche, Bayer, MSD, Novartis, and Amgen; honoraria from the Falk Foundation, Olympus, and Covidien; consultation fees from Lumendi, Boston Scientific, Erbe, and Olympus; and research support from Olympus (ESD-Register). A. Saftoiu has received lecture fees from Pentax Medical Singapore (2016–2019); his department at Ponderas Academic Hospital received 3000 FIT tests (pilot colorectal cancer screening) from Johnson and Johnson (2019–2020). P.D. Siersema is receiving research support from Pentax (2018–2021) and Yakult (2017–2020); his department is receiving research support from The eNose Company (2019–2021); he is Editor-in-Chief of Endoscopy journal. T. Ponchon is providing consultancy to Olympus, Norgine, Ipsen, and Alfa Sigma (from 1 January 2019 to present); his department is receiving research funding from Boston Scientific. J.E. van Hooft has received lecture fees from Medtronics (2014–2015, 2018) and Cook Medical (2019), and consultancy fees from Boston Scientific (2014–2017); her department has received research grants from Cook Medical (2014–2018) and Abbott (2014–2017). G. Antonelli, M. Areia, M.S. Bhutani, E. Bories, R. Capocaccia, I.M. Cazacu, P.H. Deprez, M. Dinis-Ribeiro, C. Hassan, S.P. Pereira, and C. Senore declare no competing interests., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Objective: Focal endoscopic resection (ER) followed by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) safely and effectively eradicates Barrett's oesophagus (BO) containing high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and/or early cancer (EC) in smaller studies with limited follow-up. Herein, we report long-term outcomes of combined ER and RFA for BO (HGD and/or EC) from a single-arm multicentre interventional study., Design: In 13 European centres, patients with BO ≤ 12 cm with HGD and/or EC on 2 separate endoscopies were eligible for inclusion. Visible lesions (<2 cm length; <50% circumference) were removed with ER, followed by serial RFA every 3 months (max 5 sessions). Follow-up endoscopy was scheduled at 6 months after the first negative post-treatment endoscopic control and annually thereafter., Outcomes: complete eradication of neoplasia (CE-neo) and intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM); durability of CE-neo and CE-IM (once achieved) during follow-up. Biopsy and resection specimens underwent centralised pathology review., Results: 132 patients with median BO length C3M6 were included. After entry-ER in 119 patients (90%) and a median of 3 RFA (IQR 3-4) treatments, CE-neo was achieved in 121/132 (92%) and CE-IM in 115/132 patients (87%), per intention-to-treat analysis. Per-protocol analysis, CE-neo and CE-IM were achieved in 98% and 93%, respectively. After a median of 27 months following the first negative post-treatment endoscopic control, neoplasia and IM recurred in 4% and 8%, respectively. Mild-to-moderate adverse events occurred in 25 patients (19%); all managed conservatively or endoscopically., Conclusions: In patients with early Barrett's neoplasia, intensive multimodality endotherapy consisting of ER combined with RFA is safe and highly effective, and the treatment effect appears to be durable during mid-term follow-up., Trial Registration Number: NTR 1211, http://www.trialregister.nl., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/)

Background & Aims: Although several classification systems have been proposed for characterization of Barrett's esophagus (BE) surface patterns based on narrow-band imaging (NBI), none have been widely accepted. The Barrett's International NBI Group (BING) aimed to develop and validate an NBI classification system for identification of dysplasia and cancer in patients with BE., Methods: The BING working group, composed of NBI experts from the United States, Europe, and Japan, met to develop a validated, consensus-driven NBI classification system for identifying dysplasia and cancer in BE. The group reviewed 60 NBI images of nondysplastic BE, high-grade dysplasia, and esophageal adenocarcinoma to characterize mucosal and vascular patterns visible by NBI; these features were used to develop the BING criteria. We then recruited adult patients undergoing surveillance or endoscopic treatment for BE at 4 institutions in the United States and Europe, obtaining high-quality NBI images and performing histologic analysis of biopsies. Experts individually reviewed 50 NBI images to validate the BING criteria, and then evaluated 120 additional NBI images (not previously viewed) to determine whether the criteria accurately predicted the histology results., Results: The BING criteria identified patients with dysplasia with 85% overall accuracy, 80% sensitivity, 88% specificity, 81% positive predictive value, and 88% negative predictive value. When dysplasia was identified with a high level of confidence, these values were 92%, 91%, 93%, 89%, and 95%, respectively. The overall strength of inter-observer agreement was substantial (κ = 0.681)., Conclusions: The BING working group developed a simple, internally validated system to identify dysplasia and EAC in patients with BE based on NBI results. When images are assessed with a high degree of confidence, the system can classify BE with >90% accuracy and a high level of inter-observer agreement., (Copyright © 2016 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Unlabelled: This Guideline is an official statement of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system 1 2 was adopted to define the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence., Main Recommendations: 1 ESGE recommends endoscopic en bloc resection for superficial esophageal squamous cell cancers (SCCs), excluding those with obvious submucosal involvement (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) may be considered in such lesions when they are smaller than 10 mm if en bloc resection can be assured. However, ESGE recommends endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) as the first option, mainly to provide an en bloc resection with accurate pathology staging and to avoid missing important histological features (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). 2 ESGE recommends endoscopic resection with a curative intent for visible lesions in Barrett's esophagus (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). ESD has not been shown to be superior to EMR for excision of mucosal cancer, and for that reason EMR should be preferred. ESD may be considered in selected cases, such as lesions larger than 15 mm, poorly lifting tumors, and lesions at risk for submucosal invasion (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). 3 ESGE recommends endoscopic resection for the treatment of gastric superficial neoplastic lesions that possess a very low risk of lymph node metastasis (strong recommendation, high quality evidence). EMR is an acceptable option for lesions smaller than 10 - 15 mm with a very low probability of advanced histology (Paris 0-IIa). However, ESGE recommends ESD as treatment of choice for most gastric superficial neoplastic lesions (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). 4 ESGE states that the majority of colonic and rectal superficial lesions can be effectively removed in a curative way by standard polypectomy and/or by EMR (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). ESD can be considered for removal of colonic and rectal lesions with high suspicion of limited submucosal invasion that is based on two main criteria of depressed morphology and irregular or nongranular surface pattern, particularly if the lesions are larger than 20 mm; or ESD can be considered for colorectal lesions that otherwise cannot be optimally and radically removed by snare-based techniques (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence)., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background and Study Aims: Endoscopic resection is the standard treatment for superficial esophageal cancer. Data on early adenocarcinoma (EAC) are widely restricted to endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), whereas large studies have been published on endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). ESD has potential advantages regarding en bloc and R0 resection rates, which have been demonstrated for ESCC. However, studies have failed to confirm these advantages in EAC. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of ESD in early esophageal cancer., Patients and Methods: A total of 111 early esophageal cancers (87 EACs and 24 ESCCs) were resected by ESD at a German tertiary referral center. A total of 60 EACs were resected within Barrett's segments ≤ M3. Resection rates, complications, and follow-up data were recorded prospectively., Results: En bloc resection rates were 95.4 % for EAC and 100 % for ESCC (P = 0.575), and R0 resection rates were 83.9 % and 91.7 %, respectively (P = 0.515). The R0 resection rate was higher in Barrett's ≤ M3 vs. > M3 (90 % vs. 70.4 %; P = 0.029). The curative resection rate was 72.4 % for EAC vs. 45.8 % for ESCC (P = 0.026). Endoluminal recurrence was observed in 2.4 % of EACs (8 % in Barrett's > M3, 0 % in Barrett's ≤ M3), and 0 % of ESCCs. Complications included strictures (11.7 %) and bleedings (0.9 %), but no perforation. Disease-specific survival was 97.7 % (EAC) and 95.8 % (ESCC), and overall survival was 96.6 % (EAC) and 66.7 % (ESCC) over a mean follow-up period of 24.3 months and 38.0 months, respectively., Conclusions: ESD was shown to be a safe resection method, achieving high R0 resection rates in both EAC and ESCC. Recurrence rates were low. To improve R0 resection within long Barrett's segments, diagnosis of the lateral extension of the lesion needs to be improved., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background and Study Aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in the colorectum is not currently a standard procedure. Few data are available from the Western world. The aim of the present study was to report on the first experiences and the learning curve of colorectal ESD in a European center., Patients and Methods: A total of 82 rectosigmoid lesions were referred for ESD. Lesion characteristics, resection rates, procedure times, complications, and recurrences were recorded prospectively. Results were compared between three consecutive study periods in order to determine the learning curve., Results: Lesions were located in the rectum (86.6 %) and the sigmoid colon (13.4 %). Median diameter was 45.5 mm. Lesions were of Paris type 0-Is with pit pattern type V (n = 8), 0-IIa (n = 33), 0-IIa + Is (n = 36), and 0-IIa + IIc (n = 5). The malignancy rate in these groups was 100 %, 0 %, 14 %, and 20 %, respectively. ESD was possible in 76 lesions (92.7 %). En bloc resection rate and R0 resection rate were 81.6 % and 69.7 %, respectively. Median procedure time was 176 minutes. Between the three consecutive study periods, en bloc resection rate increased (60.0 %, 88.0 %, 96.2 %), R0 resection rate increased (48.0 %, 76.0 %, 84.5 %; P < 0.001), and procedure time decreased (200, 193, 136 minutes; P = 0.027). The perforation and bleeding rates were 1.3 % and 7.9 %, respectively. Recurrence risk was 0 % after R0 en bloc resection and 41.7 % after piecemeal resection (P < 0.05). Median follow-up was 23.6 months., Conclusions: In the European setting, ESD in the distal colon is feasible with acceptable complication risks. Resection rates were not as high as those from Japanese studies; however, a clear learning curve could be shown. Colorectal ESD needs to be further evaluated, particularly in Europe where ESD experience is low., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background and Study Aims: Gastric outlet obstruction can occur as a late complication of a variety of cancers. Palliation of the obstructive symptoms is the primary aim of treatment in these patients. Self-expandable metal stents have emerged as a promising treatment option. The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term (30-day) clinical success and complication rates of a new enteral stent made of nitinol (Boston Scientific WallFlex stent)., Patients and Methods: Between December 2004 and 1 May 2005, 62 patients (35 men, 27 women; mean age 69.9 years) presenting with documented malignancy and symptoms of gastric outlet obstruction underwent endoscopic stenting with the new WallFlex enteral stent at one of the 15 European centers who were the first to have access to this new stent. Data were collected from charts, endoscopy procedure reports, and follow-up clinical visits. The gastric outlet obstruction scoring system (GOOSS) was used to grade the patients' ability to eat., Results: All 62 patients suffered from nausea, vomiting, or inability to eat. A total of 66 enteral stents were placed. The median length of the stenosis was 4 cm. The clinical success rate was 85% on an intention-to-treat basis. An improvement in the GOOSS score of 1 point was considered to be significant (P < 0.001). Oral intake was possible, on average, 1 day after stent placement. The median hospital stay was 6 days. Thirty days' follow-up data were available for 60 patients, 10 of whom developed complications during this period (17%)., Conclusions: In this first European series in which duodenal stenting was performed with the WallFlex enteral stent, the new stent appears to be effective and relatively safe for the palliative treatment of patients with malignant gastric outlet obstruction.