AT A GLANCE

A new study published in the International Journal of Cancer supports the utility of subtyping intestinal metaplasia (IM) as a predictor of gastric cancer (GC) risk.¹

“The identification and surveillance of patients with preneoplastic lesions at high risk of progressing to GC represents the most effective way of reducing the burden of GC. The incomplete type of IM could be considered as the best candidate for surveillance. However, the usefulness of subtyping of IM has been considered by some authors as limited and inconsistent,” explains study authors González et al.

For study purposes, a literature search was performed in Medline, LILACS, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect that yielded 14 cross-sectional and 10 follow-up studies that assessed the risk of GC among subjects with different types of IM.

According to the authors, 13 cross-sectional studies reported that the prevalence of incomplete IM was statistically significantly higher in GC cases than those of other gastric lesions, while six of the follow-up studies found a statistically significant association between incomplete IM and subsequent GC risk. Further, they add, the relative risks of GC ranged from 4- to 11-fold higher among studies reporting the magnitude of the risk for the presence of the incomplete type in comparison to the complete type or the absence of the incomplete type.

“According to this comprehensive review, most of the scientific evidence supports the utility of subtyping IM as a predictor of GC risk. Recognizing its usefulness by gastroenterologists should encourage pathologists to subtype IM,” conclude the authors.

Reference

1.     González CA, Sanz-Anquela JM, Gisbert JP, Correa P. Utility of subtyping intestinal metaplasia as marker of gastric cancer risk. A review of the evidence. Int J Cancer. 2013;133(5):1023–1032.