Washington—Malignant transformation in patients with Barrett’s esophagus may not always result from a slow, stepwise progression from nondysplastic BE to low-grade dysplasia (LGD), then to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), according to a large surveillance study undertaken in the Netherlands and the United States.
Although the expected progression was seen in most patients, there were exceptions, particularly at the time of transition to advanced stages.