Mission Statement
To advance the management of esophageal and GI diseases, by developing, validating and implementing the widespread use of standardized indices for the identification of mucosal abnormalities in research and clinical practice
Vision Statement
The application of a universally-accepted, evidence-based framework to support the development of standardized criteria for the diagnosis and evaluation of esophageal and other gastrointestinal diseases.
Three Decades of Achievement
 of reflux esophagitis, the Prague C&M criteria 
for Barrett’s esophagus, and the BORN program . 
The Los Angeles Classification of reflux esophagitis has been broadly adopted worldwide, and is now the most widely used classification system in research and clinical practice. The Prague C&M criteria for Barrett’s esophagus have been cited over 100 times in peer-reviewed articles and form the bedrock of groundbreaking studies of chemoprevention (AspECT ) and surveillance (BOSS ). An ambitious project for the endoscopic recognition of Barrett’s oesophagus-related neoplasia (BORN) has been completed. Such techniques, together with histological assessment of microscopic esophagitis, show great promise in the recognition of reflux esophagitis without mucosal breaks, which cannot be recognized reliably by standard endoscopy. The IWGCO has unrivalled expertise in developing and testing internationally applicable criteria for the evaluation of endoscopic and histological findings. It is committed to making its experience available to others who wish to advance the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
The work of the IWGCO spans 2 decades of successful delivery
- Barrett’s oesophagus related neoplasia (BORN)
- Microscopic esophagitis
- Prague C & M criteria for Barrett’s esophagus
- Minimal change esophagitis
- Los Angeles Classification of reflux esophagitis