Alcohol consumption and the neoplastic progression in Barrett's esophagus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

In the developed countries, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is increasing over recent decades. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to arrive at quantitative conclusions about the contribution of alcohol intakes and the progression of Barrett's esophagus. A comprehensive, systematic bibliographic search of medical literature published up to Oct 2013 was conducted to identify relevant studies. A meta-analysis was conducted for alcohol consumption on the Barrett's esophagus progression. A total of 882 cases in 6,867 individuals from 14 observational studies were indemnified in this meta-analysis. The result of this current meta-analysis, including 10 case-control and 4 cohort studies, indicated that alcohol consumption was not associated with the neoplastic progression in Barrett's esophagus (RR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.93-1.48). When stratified by the study designs, no significant association was detected in either high vs low group or ever vs never group. Alcohol drinking is not associated with risk of neoplastic progression in Barrett's esophagus. Further well designed studies are needed in this area.