Pronase Improves Efficacy of Chromoendoscopy Screening on Esophageal Cancer

Lugol's solution staining was regarded as a gold standard to detect early superficial lesion during esophageal cancer screening using endoscopy. However, the sensitivity and specificity were influenced by mucus and food debris of esophagus. Pronase, a kind of protease, was previously shown to improve the visibility of gastrointestinal tract. It's unknown if the pre-treatment with pronase would also improve the quality of iodine staining in esophagus.A randomized double-blind clinical trial was designed to investigate whether or not pronase might improve detection rate of early esophageal lesion, especially high grade dysplasia and early cancer by improving the esophageal visibility.