EMR Versus ESD for Barrett's Neoplasia (REMOVE-RCT)

June 24, 2026 updated by: Sanne van Munster, St. Antonius Hospital

Endoscopic Mucosal Resection Versus Endoscopic subMucosal Dissection fOr Removal of Visible Lesions in Barrett's Esophagus With Early Neoplasia: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Rationale:

The optimal technique for removal of visible dysplastic lesions in Barrett's esophagus remains controversial. Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is safe, effective, easy to apply, and has been the most widely used technique since 2008. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a more controlled dissection method with potential improved efficacy, but at the cost of higher technical complexity.

Objective:

The investigators aim to compare EMR and ESD for removal of visible lesions in Barrett's esophagus.

Study design:

Randomized clinical trial

Study population:

Patients with Barrett's esophagus and a visible lesion with dysplasia and/or early cancer. Suspicion for submucosal invasion is an exclusion criterion.

Intervention:

Patients are randomized to receive either EMR or ESD, with follow-up and no ablation during 12 months after the resection.

Main study endpoint:

Primary endpoint is the proportion of patients with no evidence of residual or local recurrent neoplasia during 12 months follow-up after baseline.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
331

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Netherlands
      • Amsterdam, Netherlands
        • Recruiting
        • Amsterdam University Medical Center
        • Contact:
      • Eindhoven, Netherlands
      • Groningen, Netherlands
        • Recruiting
        • University Medical Center Groningen
        • Contact:
      • Nieuwegein, Netherlands
        • Recruiting
        • St. Antonius Ziekenhuis
        • Contact:
      • Rotterdam, Netherlands
      • Utrecht, Netherlands
        • Recruiting
        • University Medical Center Utrecht
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients age: ≥ 18 years
  • Willingness to undergo both EMR or ESD
  • Ability to provide written, informed consent (approved by IRB) and understand the responsibilities of trial participation
  • BE with at least one visible lesion ("target lesion") with absence of signs of submucosal invasion on endoscopy, after evaluation by the adjudication committee
  • Multiple lesions are allowed as long as the lesions are considered eligible for endoscopic treatment. Only the target lesion is evaluated for the study
  • Prior endoscopic resection is allowed

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with visible lesions with suspicion of submucosal invasion based on assessment of the adjudication committee
  • Patients with HGD in at least one random biopsy, before inclusion (i.e. during endoscopy in the referring center <3 months before imaging, or during imaging endoscopy)
  • History of esophageal surgery other than fundoplication
  • History of esophageal ablation therapy
  • In case of prior endoscopic resection, the target lesion located within 1 cm of the prior resection site
  • Uncontrolled coagulopathy with INR >2.0, thrombocytopenia with platelet counts < 50,000
  • Esophageal varix or varices
  • Subject has a known history of unresolved drug or alcohol dependency that would limit ability to comprehend or follow instructions related to informed consent, post-treatment instructions, or follow-up guidelines
  • Life expectancy <2 years

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Endoscopic submucosal dissection
Other: ESD
Endoscopic submucosal dissection, according to standard care
Active Comparator: Endoscopic mucosal resection
Other: EMR
Endoscopic mucosal resection, according to standard care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Primary endpoint is the proportion of patients with no evidence of residual or local recurrent neoplasia during 12 months follow-up after baseline.
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of complications
Time Frame: 12 months
. Complications will be assessed on patient level (yes/no) and chi-square test will be used to compare the outcomes between the study arms. In the case > 25% of patients have multiple complications, assessment will be performed on complication level (n per patient) using Poisson-regression analysis.
12 months
Procedure times
Time Frame: 12 months
a skewed continuous variable that will be compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.
12 months
Proportion of patients with endoscopically radical resection
Time Frame: 12 months
assessed during the ER endoscopy, a proportion that will be compared using the chi2 test or Fisher's exact if the number of patients in a single category is <5.
12 months
The total number of ER endoscopies per patient
Time Frame: 12 months
This number will be compared using Poison regression analysis.
12 months
The proportion of patients that shows neoplastic progression
Time Frame: 12 months
This will be compared with a chi2 test or Fisher's exact if the number of patients in a single category is <5, and this analyses will be stratified for moment of detection (i.e. at baseline or later during the study duration).
12 months
Cost-effectiveness
Time Frame: 12 months
Cost-effectiveness will be calculated by efficacy of both procedures (absence of residual or recurrent disease) divided by total costs in Euro associated with the procedures
12 months
Additional histopathologic evaluation may be performed to evaluate potential differences between the two techniques.
Time Frame: 12 months
Interobserver agreement between the two techniques will be evaluated with Cohen's kappa, as well as a subjective score on ease of assessment on a NRS score ranging from 0-10.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
St. Antonius Hospital

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University Medical Center Groningen
UMC Utrecht
Erasmus Medical Center
Catharina Ziekenhuis Eindhoven
Amsterdam University Medical Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 17, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 1, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 9, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 11, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 24, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 001 (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES))

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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