Background and aim: Gastritis and intestinal metaplasia (IM) have long been known to be risk factors for and precursors of gastric cancer. We aimed to elucidate the association between gastric cancer risk and the distribution of precancerous lesions in the stomach by histological analyses.
Methods: We analyzed patients from whom two biopsy specimens (one from the antrum and one from the corpus) were obtained by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Specimens were assessed for Helicobacter pylori, IM, and neutrophil infiltration (NI). Patients were classified into three groups based on the presence of IM. Patients were also classified into four groups based on the presence of NI. The prevalence of gastric cancer was compared between groups.
Results: A total of 1395 patients were analyzed. Of these, 54 had gastric cancer (34 intestinal and 20 diffuse type). A multivariate analysis showed that male sex and the distribution of IM were independent risk factors for intestinal-type cancer. Compared with patients without IM (n = 1005), the odds ratio (OR) for patients with IM in the antrum only (n = 240) was 2.34 (95% confidence interval: 1.08-4.96), and that for patients with IM in the corpus (n = 150) was 5.84 (2.92-11.8). However, NI was related to diffuse-type cancer. Compared with patients without NI (n = 899), the OR for patients with NI in the corpus only (n = 122) was 3.66 (1.02-12.2).
Conclusions: The histological pattern and distribution of gastric mucosal change assessed by two biopsy specimens were related to gastric cancer.
© 2011 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.