Higher risk of neoplastic progression of Barrett’s esophagus in patients with systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis(SSc)is a multisystem connective-tissue disorder of unknown etiology affecting various internal organs and skin.Esophageal involvement is present in≤70%–90%of the patients and is manifested by severe gastroesophageal-reflux disease and dysmotility.Although Barrett’s esophagus(BE)has been reported in patients with SSc[1,2],the risk of neoplastic progression has not been reported before in the USA.Therefore,we aimed to study the prevalence of BE in SSc and incidence of neoplastic progression.