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Barrett's esophagus is a premalignant condition associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma. Although speculation exists, it is currently unclear if Barrett's esophagus is associated with an increased risk of colonic tumors. Dr Andrici and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of studies reporting the prevalence of colonic tumors in patients with Barrett's esophagus vs controls, and thus quantify the risk of colonic tumors associated with Barrett's esophagus. The team searched Medline, PubMed, Embase, and Current Contents Connect 2012. The research team calculated pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects model for the risk of all colonic tumors associated with Barrett's esophagus, as well as for the subgroups of colorectal cancer and benign adenomatous tumors. The researchers reported that in total, 11 studies, with 2580 Barrett's esophagus cases, met our inclusion criteria.  | | Barrett's was associated with an increased risk of benign adenomatous tumors | | Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics |
Barrett's esophagus was associated with an increased risk of any colonic tumors. The doctors found that Barrett's esophagus was associated with an increased risk of benign adenomatous tumors, as well as an increased risk of colorectal cancer. No statistically significant heterogeneity was observed. Publication bias was not present. Dr Andrici's team concluded "Barrett's esophagus was associated with an increased risk of both benign adenomatous colonic tumors and colorectal cancer." "Barrett's esophagus had a stronger association with colorectal cancer than with benign colonic tumors." "Further prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm the relationship."
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