Novel Barrett’s esophagus screening assays based on swallowable devices: will they change the game?

The incidence of several cancers, including colorectal cancer, has plateaued or even declined in recent years (1). Unfortunately, we have not seen a similar decrease in the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). If anything, modeling studies estimate that deaths from EAC will continue to increase until 2030, eventually leading to nearly twice the number of deaths seen during the previous 20 years (2). This grim forecast is a consequence of EAC being challenging to treat as it is typically diagnosed in later stages, when cure by surgical resection or multimodal therapy is no longer possible (3). For this reason, improved early detection of EAC or its precursor lesion, Barrett’s esophagus (BE), is one strategy that has been proposed to reduce EAC mortality.