The increasing incidence of adenocarcinoma of the lower esophagus and cardia arising in Barrett's metaplastic epithelium continues to be of great concern because medical and surgical efforts to reverse the process have been disappointing. A potential answer to the problem is removal of the metaplastic epithelium. Modern technology has introduced physical and chemical modalities which facilitate ablation of the neo-epithelium endoscopically. These techniques have been used in several centers, and preliminary results are encouraging. This report summarizes the proceedings of an international symposium on ablative therapy held in Brittany, France in August 1997. Twenty-eight speakers contributed to the talks on the pathology, pathogenesis, current therapy experimental studies and clinical experience of ablation of Barrett's esophagus.