Mayo Clinic: Millions of people know what it's like to have to run for the antacids after a big pasta dinner. Most of the time heartburn is harmless, but people who suffer from chronic heartburn are at increased risk of a condition called Barrett's esophagus. And if you have it, your chances of getting esophageal cancer go up.
Doctors at Mayo Clinic studied whether or not burning away the Barrett's cells with heat from radiofrequency ablation gets rid of the problem. What they found was encouraging.