Doctors renew focus on worst acid reflux cases

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Chronic heartburn is a daily acid bath for the esophagus, and complications from it are on the rise. With the new government figures, it show a worrisome rise in esophagus disorders from severe acid reflux.

To make things worse, esophageal cancer is continuing increase as the nation's fastest-growing malignancy.

More doctors are trying to zap away the worst damage, beaming radiofrequency energy down the throat to burn off precancerous cells.

Heartburn sometimes is a temporary problem, but it also can signal gastrointestinal reflux disease, or GERD, where a loose valve allows stomach acid to regularly back up into the delicate esophagus. Millions have GERD, which is on the rise along with expanding waistlines. For most people, acid-suppressing medications are the answer.

But severe reflux over many years can cause serious problems for a fraction of people. The lining of the esophagus erodes until it bleeds, narrows to make swallowing difficult or, worse, starts to repair itself with more acid-resistant intestinal cells that happen to be more cancer-prone. That last condition is called Barrett's esophagus, and sufferers are 30 times more likely than the average person to go on to develop esophageal cancer.

[Source - Associated Press]