CRD Summary: This review concluded that pharmacological therapy, antireflux surgery and endoscopic ablative techniques were promising in treating Barrett's oesophagus, but studies performed to date did not possess adequate power to assess reduction and prevention of progression to adenocarcinoma. The conclusions reflected the results presented, but due to potential sources of bias (language, publication and reviewer error) their reliability is uncertain.

CRD Commentary: The review question was supported by inclusion criteria for study design, participants and outcomes. Relevant databases were searched; searches were restricted to published English-language articles, so the review may have been susceptible to language and publication biases. Data extraction was performed in duplicate, which reduced the possibility of reviewer error and bias; similar steps were not reported for study selection or validity assessment. Validity of the included studies was assessed and quality taken into consideration in the report. Clinical and statistical heterogeneity was taken into account and decisions on whether to perform narrative synthesis or meta-analysis appeared to be appropriate. The authors conclusions reflected the results presented, but there were possible sources of bias in the review so the reliability of the conclusions is unclear.