Introduction:
Barrett’s esophagus (BE) represents the distal esophageal epithelium changes that carry a high risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma. One of the most challenging aspects of diagnosing BE by endoscopy is precisely discerning between normal epithelium and BE changes, which is essential for therapy success. The objectives of this study were to compare the success of radio-frequency ablation (RFA) therapy to conservative treatment with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs between the clinical presentation and endoscopy findings of BE at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months after administered therapy.

Material and methods:
Seventy-five subjects were divided into two groups (RFA and PPI) based on the BE treatment regimen in this case-control study to compare the quality of treatments applied over a 24-month follow-up. Subjects who received RFA therapy were further divided into groups: those who received focal HALO 90 and those who received circumferential HALO 360, based primarily on EGDS findings or endoscopist experience.

Results:
The results show that using the RFA therapeutic modality in the treatment of BE is more effective (by 94.2% in the second month of follow-up, i.e., by 99% at the final visit after 24 months) than using PPI therapy alone. Re-RFA therapy was given to 15% of the subjects, mostly applied in the same therapeutic modality (HALO 90).

Conclusions:
Our findings show that RFA and re-RFA therapy have a high efficacy and safety profile, with no registered worsening of histology findings, the occurrence of esophageal adenocarcinoma, or adverse effects of the therapy.