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About Esophageal Cancer

About Gastric Cancer

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Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence

The Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence was established in late 2022 in the hopes of advancing esophageal and gastric cancer research, clinical trials, screening, and treatments. This Center of Excellence was established through a generous gift from the Rady family in honor of their late family member, Paul R. O’Hara II, who was treated at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

The Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic brings together a team of expert surgeons, gastroenterologists, pathologists, oncologists, radiologists, and more focused on the esophagus and stomach. Together, the team analyzes a patient’s diagnosis and recommends a specific treatment plan for the individual. Not only does the clinic focus on patients with precancerous and cancerous lesions of the esophagus and stomach, but they have also established a benign clinic that has a specialized team who treats patients with noncancerous conditions of the esophagus.

The Center of Excellence is committed to providing the best possible care to all its patients, initiating new research, as well as investigating new clinical trials. The center works with the University of Colorado Cancer Center and across the institution, including UCHealth.

Naming Ceremony

Celebrating the naming of the Center (2022). Left to right, Dr. Madeleine Kane, Dr. Richard Schulick, Paul Rady, Katy Rady, Dr. Sachin Wani

If you are interested in collaborating with other individuals across the campus who focus on esophageal and gastric cancer and noncancerous conditions, please submit your interest below:

Meet the Executive Director

The Center of Excellence is led by Sachin Wani, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the CU School of Medicine, who holds the Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Endowed Chair in Esophageal Cancer Research. Wani’s goals include using an endowed innovation fund for seed grants, student support, and other high-priority programs, recruiting top talent and infrastructure for innovation and new programs, developing and expanding clinical trials, and expanding and bolstering existing screening and surveillance programs that will lead to better patient results and fewer deaths from esophageal and gastric cancers.

Research Studies (Clinical Trials)

The research studies (clinical trials) below are open to enrollment.

Abbreviations used below

BE — Barrett’s Esophagus

Barrett's Esophagus (BE) is a condition in which tissue that is similar to the lining of your intestine replaces the tissue lining your esophagus. It is a common condition associated with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease. BE is the only known precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC); see below.

EAC — esophageal adenocarcinoma

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a highly lethal cancer with an increasing incidence over the last 5 decades.

EGD — Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

An esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is a procedure that allows your physician to visualize the inside of your oropharynx, esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.

Other terms to know

Dysplasia

Dysplasia refers to abnormal cell structure within the esophageal lining. Progressing by severity:

Non-dysplastic BE Low Grade Dysplasia High Grade Dysplasia EAC

EnteroTracker (22-0320) Sponsor: EnteroTrack LLC — Pilot Study to Evaluate Utility of EnteroTracker® as a Minimally Invasive Sampling Method to Screen for Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Cancer.

If you choose to enroll in this study: You will have the Enterotracker device administered. This device consists of swallowing a small capsule connected to a string. After a 60 min dwell time, the string will be removed and processed for critical biomarkers in diagnosing Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancers.

Goal: Evaluate the ability and tolerability of the EnteroTracker® to capture esophageal mucosal samples in adults with Barrett’s Esophageal and/or Esophageal Adenocarcinoma as well as controls. In the future, our hope is that this device could be used as an adjunct to your Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer treatment.

Criteria to participate: 45 and older with a previous diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus and/or esophageal adenocarcinoma without any previous endoscopic eradication therapy, esophageal surgery, history of a stricture, or swallowing disorders.

Type of Study: Treatment – Pilot

Visit clinicaltrials.gov to learn more about Enterotracker

Watch: A quick demo on what to expect if you choose to participate. https://enterotrack.com/

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

SWAT-BE (18-2431) Sponsor: CDx Diagnostics - A multi-center, randomized, blinded, superiority trial comparing the Seattle Biopsy Protocol vs WATS3D in patients with BE.

If you choose to enroll in this study, you will be placed into one of two groups:

Group 1: Seattle Biopsy protocol first, followed by the WATS3D brush

Group 2: WATS3D brush first, followed by the Seattle Biopsy protocol

Goal: To compare the diagnostic yield of neoplasia (Low Grade Dysplasia/High Grade Dysplasia/EAC) between the two techniques in the surveillance population and diagnostic yield of intestinal metaplasia between the two techniques in the screen population.

Criteria to participate: Patients over 45 with a diagnosis of Non-dysplastic Barrett’s esophagus without any prior endoscopic eradication therapy.

Type of Study: Treatment - Randomized

Visit clinicaltrials.gov to learn more about SWAT-BE

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

SURVENT (21-4972) Sponsor: NIDDK, NIH - A multi-center, randomized, controlled trial of SURVeillance vs. Endoscopic Therapy for Barrett’s esophagus Low Grade Dysplasia.

If you choose to enroll in this study, you will be placed into one of two groups:

Group 1: Endoscopic surveillance: EGD every 6 months in which biopsies will be obtain to manage the possible progression of your Low-Grade Dysplasia.

Group 2: Endoscopic Eradication Therapy: You will be seen every 3 -4 months for radiofrequency ablation of your Low-Grade Dysplasia until there is no more Barrett’s esophagus.

Goal: To compare the effectiveness of endoscopic surveillance and endoscopic eradication therapy for the management of Barrett’s esophagus and Low-Grade Dysplasia.

Criteria to participate: Any patient with a diagnosed with Low Grade Dysplasia Barrett’s esophagus in the last 12 months without any prior endoscopic eradication therapy.

Type of Study: Treatment – Randomized

Visit: https://www.barretts-survent.com/ and/or clinicaltrials.gov to learn more about SURVENT

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

(TREAT-BE) (14-2371) Sponsor: CU

If you choose to enroll in this study, your past and future Endoscopy findings will be included in our database.

Goal: To provide useful data of patients with BE and EAC undergoing Endoscopic Eradication Therapy in effort to improve overall patient outcomes.

Criteria to participate: Any patient with a diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus referred for Endoscopic Eradication Therapy at University of Colorado Anschutz.

Type of Study: Longitudinal follow – up

Visit clinicaltrials.gov to learn more about Treat-BE

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

Biobank (16-2636) Sponsor: DOM-OESP, Paul O’Hara Endowed Chair Seed Award

If you choose to enroll in this study, we will include some of the tissue samples obtained during procedure in our Biorepository.

Goal: To develop a biobank containing biological specimens from patients with Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Cancer.

Criteria to participate: Any patient with GERD, Barrett’s esophagus, or esophageal adenocarcinoma scheduled for an EGD procedure at University of Colorado Anschutz without any prior endoscopic eradication therapy.

Type of Study: Longitudinal – Biorepository

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

Post EET WATS3D (21-4145) Sponsor: CDx diagnostics – A multi-center prospective randomized controlled study to assess the additive diagnostic yield of WATS-3D sampling beyond that of Intestinal Metaplasia or dysplasia (recurrence) in patients who have undergone endoscopic eradication therapy for BE-reared neoplasia.

If you choose to enroll, you will be placed into one of two groups:

Group 1: Seattle Biopsy protocol first, followed by the WATS3D brush

Group 2: WATS3D brush first, followed by the Seattle Biopsy protocol

Goal: To determine whether the WATS-3D sampling is superior to the standard Seattle biopsy protocol in detecting recurrence of Barrett’s esophagus in patients who have achieved complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia post endoscopic eradication therapy.

Criteria to participate: Patients who have achieved complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia following endoscopic eradication therapy in the past 12 months.

Type of Study: Treatment - Randomized

Visit clinicaltrials.gov to learn more about Post EET WATS3D

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

LucidDx EG-CL-102 (20-0449) Sponsor: Lucid Diagnostics, Inc. - Using EsoGuard, a swallow able balloon device, on Samples Collected Using EsoCheck, versus EGD, for the Diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus with and without Dysplasia, and for esophageal adenocarcinoma.

If you choose to enroll in this study, Dr. Wani will administer the Esoguard device before your endoscopy. This device will collect cells and biomarkers that help identify the diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus or esophageal cancers.

Goal: To measure the sensitivities of EsoGuard-based diagnosis the different stages of Barrett’s Esophagus in order to asses EsoGuard’s ability to detect disease across the entire continuum of disease progression.

Criteria to participate: Males 50 and above scheduled for an egd with a diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus and/or esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Type of Study: Treatment - device

Visit clinicaltrials.gov to learn more about Lucid

If you are interested in this study, please reach out to the any of the emails below:

jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

Latest in Esophageal Cancer from the CU Cancer Center

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Contact Us

Administration

Jessica Dry, MHA
Program Manager
jessica.dry@cuanschutz.edu

Maddie Taylor, MSHA
Program Coordinator
madeline.taylor@cuanschutz.edu

Clinic

Kelli DeLay, MD
Medical Director, Benign Esophageal and Gastric Multidisciplinary Clinic
303-266-0833

Megan Marsh, MPAS, PA-C
Esophageal and Gastric Multidisciplinary Clinic Coordinator
720-848-0405

Research

Case Brennan, BA
Research Services Professional
case.brennan@cuanschutz.edu

Jazmyne Gallegos, BA
Research Services Professional
jazmyne.gallegos@cuanschutz.edu

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz Medical Campus

University of Colorado Cancer Center

School of Medicine

Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence

Meet the Executive Director

Research Studies (Clinical Trials)

Abbreviations used below

BE — Barrett’s Esophagus

EAC — esophageal adenocarcinoma

EGD — Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

Other terms to know

Dysplasia

Latest in Esophageal Cancer from the CU Cancer Center

Contact Us

Administration

Clinic

Research

Cancer Center (SOM)

Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence

Meet the Executive Director

Research Studies (Clinical Trials)

Abbreviations used below

BE — Barrett’s Esophagus

EAC — esophageal adenocarcinoma

EGD — Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

Other terms to know

Dysplasia

Pilot Study to Evaluate Utility of EnteroTracker® as a Minimally Invasive Sampling Method to Screen for Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Cancer (Enterotracker)

A Multicenter Randomized Trial of Seattle Biopsy Protocol Versus Wide-Area Transepithelial Sampling in Patients with Barrett's Esophagus Undergoing Surveillance (The SWAT-BE Study)

Surveillance vs. Endoscopic Therapy for Barrett's Esophagus with Low-grade Dysplasia (SURVENT)

Treatment with Resection and Endoscopic Ablation Techniques for Barrett’s Esophagus (TREAT BE)

Biomarkers in Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: The Treat-BE Consortium Biobank (Biobank)

Wide-Area Transepithelial Sampling in Endoscopic Eradication Therapy for Barrett's Esophagus

Efficacy of EsoGuard on Samples Collected Using EsoCheck Versus EGD for the Diagnosis of BE

Latest in Esophageal Cancer from the CU Cancer Center

Contact Us

Administration

Clinic

Research

Cancer Center (SOM)