¹Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Correspondence: Nicholas Shaheen, MD, MPH, CB#7080 UNC-CH Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7080

Received 18 December 2004; Revised  0000; Accepted 22 December 2004.

Abstract

The effect of a surgical antireflux procedure on the risk of cancer in those with GERD and Barrett's esophagus is unclear. Although some authorities have suggested that a surgical antireflux procedure might be superior to medical management for the prevention of cancer, the cumulative data do not demonstrate that those patients undergoing surgery have any decrement in cancer risk compared to those who receive medication. Most data available to assess the effect of surgery on cancer risk come from case series. These data are of very limited utility, because of differences in the baseline composition of groups undergoing medical and surgical therapy. Until more data are available, patients should not be advised to undergo surgical fundoplication as an antineoplastic measure.