Barrett's esophagus: treatment or observation of a major precursor factor of esophageal cancer?

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a major precursor factor of esophageal cancer (EC). The appropriate management of patients with BE depends on the presence or not of dysplasia and the type of dysplasia that occurs. Due to the small proportion of BE patients that progress to cancer, the value of surveillance programs are a matter of debate. On the contrary, in high risk group of patients surveillance programs have significant impact. Large prospective trials are needed to define the optimal management strategy. Elucidation of carcinogenesis' steps and signal transduction pathways could reveal potential biomarkers in the order of early prediction for a highly malignant neoplasm with dismal prognosis. An efficacious tailored-made manner focusing to the safety profile and associated costs should be practised for less severe disease. In this review a thorough investigation of all available methods dealing with the clinical management of BE is provided.

Formation of hydroxyapatite/biopolymer biomaterials. I. Microporous composites from solidified emulsions.

Microporous materials of controlled pore size were prepared by means of a three-step process involving in situ hydrochemical preparation of a hydroxyapatite-sodium caseinate (HAp-Cas) composite material into a Cas-stabilized oil-in-water emulsion, subsequent concentration and drying of the composite-emulsion, and removal of the oil by means of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. The resulting composite materials were found to contain micron-sized pores in the space previously occupied by the oil droplets. In order to elucidate the structure of the resulting porous product, its Cas-HAp composition was studied in the corresponding nonporous composite material. In nonporous samples, a protein assay by means of visible spectroscopy suggested equilibrium between the Cas that was trapped in the composite structure and the Cas that remained in solution after precipitation. This observation was confirmed by separate thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy measurements.