Receipt of Serial Endoscopy Procedures Prior to Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Diagnosis Is Associated with Better Survival

Background The poor prognosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has focused efforts on early detection by serial endoscopic surveillance of Barrett’s esophagus (BE). Previously, we reported that receipt of endoscopy before EAC diagnosis was associated with improved survival. Aim We aimed to refine our previous analysis, assessing surveillance as measured by performance of serial endoscopy before EAC diagnosis and evaluating its association with stage and survival. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database. Patients aged ≥ 70 years with EAC diagnosed during 1998–2009 were identified. Diagnosis with BE and receipt of ≥ 2 upper endoscopic procedures within 5 years before cancer diagnosis were identified. We compared a reference group not receiving serial endoscopy to 3 patterns based on ≥ 2 endoscopy dates relative to a timepoint 2 years before cancer diagnosis: “remote,” “recent,” and “sustained.” Results Among 5532 patients, 28% ( n = 1,575) had localized stage. Thirteen percent ( n = 703) received ≥ 2 endoscopic procedures before cancer diagnosis: 224, 298, and 181 in the “recent,” “remote,” and “sustained” groups. Serial endoscopy and prior BE were associated with localized stage (“sustained” group OR 2.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.07, 4.19; prior BE OR 2.68, 95% CI 2.03, 3.56). Serial endoscopy was associated with improved survival even with adjustment for lead time bias (“sustained” group HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.37, 0.55) and length time bias. Conclusions Sustained endoscopy was associated with earlier stage and improved survival. These results support the role of sustained surveillance in early detection of EAC.