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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.