Welcome
Endoscopic
treatment of early neoplasia in the upper gastrointestinal tract has become
standard of care for selected patients. Cornerstone of endoscopic treatment
is the endoscopic mucosal resection (ER), since it removes the target area with
histological correlation. A new ablation technique using radiofrequency (RF)
energy has become available in Europe. Studies on RF ablation have shown impressive
success rates, not only for the removal of neoplasia but also for complete endoscopic
and histological removal of all Barrett's mucosa. The procedure is safe and
results in complete restoration of normal appearing squamous mucosa free from
pre-existing oncogenetic abnormalities.
Management of patients with early upper GI neoplasia requires multidisciplinary
expertise and performing ER and RFA adequately and safely requires skill and
training. The ER and RFA Training Program 2008 aims at educating teams of endoscopists,
pathologists and endoscopy nurses in the complete patient management, including
endoscopic work-up and staging of the patients, ER techniques, RF ablation technique
and histopathological evaluation of the resected specimens.
The ER and RFA Training Program 2008 is an initiative of the Department of Gastroenterology
and Hepatology of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. The training program
committee, consisting of international experts in this field, organizes the
training and serves as an advisory and referral organ during and after the training
program.
This website provides general information regarding the training program, together
with more detailed practical information for participants.