Early diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer at an early, asymptomatic but curable stage, is the key for radical treatment and cure of gastric and colorectal cancer, with the minimally invasive Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) technique.

ESD is characterized by submucosal dissection of mucosal GI cancer, and has the advantage of ‘en bloc’ rejection without open surgery. With the ESD technique, early GI cancer is completely removed in one piece within normal margins and not in many pieces as in traditional endoscopic piecemeal resection, that has higher risk of recurrence. ESD technique has become the treatment of choice for early GI cancer and can be applied for esophageal, gastric and colorectal mucosal cancer

Accurate and timely diagnosis of early GI cancer demands deep knowledge of the Japanese endoscopic techniques and classifications, because unfortunately GI cancer at early stages can be mistaken for benign erosion or ulceration and easily escape from the correct diagnosis even from experienced endoscopists by standard white light endoscopy.

Dr. Νikos Eleftheriadis, successfully uses in daily practice the so called “Japanese eye“ for endoscopic recognition, evaluation, and subsequent classification of superficial GI mucosal lesions, which referred to potentially curable early GI cancer.

As a result of these practices Dr. Nikos Eleftheriadis has successfully diagnosed and subsequently performed curative (R0) *en bloc* ESD resections in Thessaloniki, for early gastric cancer and colorectal adenomas of his patients.

Νikos Eleftheriadis in collaboration with the Worlds’ famous Japanese ‘Digestive Disease Center’ in Tokyo University has published several articles related to modern diagnostic and therapeutic (ESD) Japanese techniques, including a novel endoscopic classification using acetic acid chromoendoscopy:”Acetic acid spray enhances accuracy of narrow-band imaging magnifying endoscopy for endoscopic tissue characterization of early gastric cancer. Authors: Eleftheriadis N, Inoue H, Ikeda H.Journal: Gastrointest Endosc 2014;79:712.”