Predictors of upstage diagnosis after endoscopic resection of gastric low-grade dysplasia

Role of submucosal injection in radiofrequency ablation of gastric low-grade dysplasia: Effects on symptoms and outcomes

BACKGROUND

To date, there is still a lack of standardized management strategies for gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD), which is a direct neoplastic precancerous lesion and requires specifically superficial destruction. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is expected to be an effective method for gastric LGD, but post-RFA pain may affect patients' satisfaction and compliance. The current study aimed to evaluate the value of a submucosal injection prior to RFA (SI-RFA) for postoperative pain and treatment outcomes.

METHODS

Between October 2014 and July 2021, gastric LGDs without risk factors (size >2 cm, unclear boundary, and abnormal microsurface and microvascularity) undergoing regular RFA and SI-RFA were retrospectively analyzed. Postoperative pain scores, wound healing, and clinical efficacy were compared. Propensity score matching, stratified analysis, and multivariable logistic regression were performed to control the confounding variables.

RESULTS

One hundred and ninety-seven gastric LGDs in 151 patients received regular RFA. Forty-nine gastric LGDs in 36 patients received SI-RFA. Thirty-six pairs of patients were selected for the assessment of postoperative pain by propensity score matching. Compared to regular RFA, SI-RFA significantly decreased the degree and duration of postoperative pain (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13-0.84; P = 0.020), improved wound healing rate (80.0% [36/45] vs. 58.9% [89/151], P = 0.012), increased the complete ablation rate (91.8% [45/49] vs. 86.3% [170/197], χ2 = 1.094, P = 0.295), but correlated with higher rates of local recurrence and progression (25.6% [10/39] vs. 13.2% [18/136], χ2 = 3.471, P = 0.062; 8.3% [3/36] vs. 0.9% [1/116], P = 0.042). The multivariable logistic regression model confirmed that submucosal injection was associated with local recurrence (OR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.13-7.58; P = 0.027).

CONCLUSIONS

Submucosal injections prior to RFA may reduce postoperative pain and scar formation while ensuring complete ablation of gastric LGD. However, local recurrence and progression should be considered seriously.

Pathology and Clinical Relevance of Gastric Epithelial Dysplasia

Gastric dysplasia is defined as an unequivocally neoplastic epithelium. Dysplastic lesions are characterized by cellular atypia reflective of abnormal differentiation and disorganized glandular architecture. The last few years have been marked by a refinement of the prognosis and risk of progression of gastric dysplasia and the recognition of novel morphologic patterns of dysplasia. Determination of the correct diagnosis and grade of dysplasia are critical steps since it will be predicting the risk of malignant transformation and help tailor appropriate surveillance strategy. This review describes the morphologic characteristics of conventional dysplasia and nonconventional gastric dysplasia that have been more recently characterized.

Effect of a deep learning-based automatic upper GI endoscopic reporting system: a randomized crossover study (with video)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

EGD is essential for GI disorders, and reports are pivotal to facilitating postprocedure diagnosis and treatment. Manual report generation lacks sufficient quality and is labor intensive. We reported and validated an artificial intelligence-based endoscopy automatic reporting system (AI-EARS).

METHODS

The AI-EARS was designed for automatic report generation, including real-time image capturing, diagnosis, and textual description. It was developed using multicenter datasets from 8 hospitals in China, including 252,111 images for training, 62,706 images, and 950 videos for testing. Twelve endoscopists and 44 endoscopy procedures were consecutively enrolled to evaluate the effect of the AI-EARS in a multireader, multicase, crossover study. The precision and completeness of the reports were compared between endoscopists using the AI-EARS and conventional reporting systems.

RESULTS

In video validation, the AI-EARS achieved completeness of 98.59% and 99.69% for esophageal and gastric abnormality records, respectively, accuracies of 87.99% and 88.85% for esophageal and gastric lesion location records, and 73.14% and 85.24% for diagnosis. Compared with the conventional reporting systems, the AI-EARS achieved greater completeness (79.03% vs 51.86%, P < .001) and accuracy (64.47% vs 42.81%, P < .001) of the textual description and completeness of the photo-documents of landmarks (92.23% vs 73.69%, P < .001). The mean reporting time for an individual lesion was significantly reduced (80.13 ± 16.12 seconds vs 46.47 ± 11.68 seconds, P < .001) after the AI-EARS assistance.

CONCLUSIONS

The AI-EARS showed its efficacy in improving the accuracy and completeness of EGD reports. It might facilitate the generation of complete endoscopy reports and postendoscopy patient management. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT05479253.).

The features of gastric epithelial reactive hyperplastic lesions under magnifying endoscopy combined with narrow-band imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Gastric reactive hyperplasia (RH) is a common benign lesion of the gastric mucosa that can be resolved by conservative treatment without endoscopic intervention. Some RH lesions are indistinguishable from low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) lesions of gastric mucosa under endoscopy. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological features of RH lesions under magnifying endoscopy combined with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI).

METHODS

A retrospective study of 653 patients with superficial suspicious lesions of gastric mucosa was performed. According to the pathological results of biopsies, the final included lesions were divided into the RH group (n = 88) and LGIN group (n = 138). We analysed the microvascular and microsurface patterns of these lesions under ME-NBI, extracted the most significant combination of endoscopic features of RH lesions, and evaluated their diagnostic performance.

RESULTS

ME-NBI characteristics that could distinguish RH lesions from LGIN lesions after univariate analysis were included in multivariate logistic regression. The results showed that ten characteristics, including intervening part (IP) length homogeneity, type III gastric pit pattern and homogeneity of marginal crypt epithelium (MCE), were statistically significant. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the triad of these features was the best combination for diagnosing RH lesions with an AUC of 0.886 (95% confidence interval; 0.842-0.929), the sensitivity of 85.5% and specificity of 79.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

The triad of IP length homogeneity, type III pit pattern and MCE homogeneity under ME-NBI helps endoscopists to identify gastric RH lesions, thereby avoiding unnecessary biopsy and repeat endoscopy due to misjudgment of neoplastic lesions.

Endoscopic resection of gastric low-grade dysplasia with high risk factors is associated with decreased advanced neoplasia: a single-center retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The natural course of gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD) remains unclear, and there are inconsistent management recommendations among guidelines and consensus.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the incidence of advanced neoplasia in patients with gastric LGD and identify the related risk factors.

METHODS

Cases of biopsy demonstrated LGD (BD-LGD) at our center from 2010 to 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. Risk factors related to histological progression were identified, and outcomes of patients based on risk stratification were evaluated.

RESULTS

Ninety-seven (23.0%) of 421 included BD-LGD lesions were diagnosed as advanced neoplasia. Among 409 superficial BD-LGD lesions, lesion in the upper third of the stomach, H. pylori infection, larger size, and narrow band imaging (NBI)-positive findings were independent risk factors of progression. NBI-positive lesions and NBI-negative lesions with or without other risk factors had 44.7%, 1.7%, and 0.0% risk of advanced neoplasia, respectively. Invisible lesions, visible lesions (VLs) without a clear margin, and VLs with a clear margin and size ≤ 10 mm, or > 10 mm had 4.8%, 7.9%, 16.7%, and 55.7% risk of advanced neoplasia, respectively. In addition, endoscopic resection decreased the risk of cancer (P < 0.001) and advanced neoplasia (P < 0.001) in patients with NBI-positive lesions, but not in NBI-negative patients. Similar results were found in patients with VLs with clear margin and size > 10 mm. Moreover, NBI-positive lesions had higher sensitivity and lower specificity for predicting advanced neoplasia than VLs with a clear margin and size > 10 mm determined by white-light endoscopy (97.6% vs. 62.7%, P < 0.001; and 63.0% vs. 85.6%, P < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Progression of superficial BD-LGD is associated with NBI-positive lesions, as well as with VLs with a clear margin (size > 10 mm) if NBI is unavailable, and selective resection of those lesions offers benefits for patients by decreasing the risk of advanced neoplasia.

Local Recurrence after Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Early Gastric Cancer

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is considered the treatment of choice for early gastric cancer (EGC) with a negligible risk of lymph node metastasis. Locally recurrent lesions on artificial ulcer scars are difficult to manage. Predicting the risk of local recurrence after ESD is important to manage and prevent the event. We aimed to elucidate the risk factors associated with local recurrence after ESD of EGC. Between November 2008 and February 2016, consecutive patients (n = 641; mean age, 69.3 ± 9.5 years; men, 77.2%) with EGC who underwent ESD at a single tertiary referral hospital were retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the incidence and factors associated with local recurrence. Local recurrence was defined as the development of neoplastic lesions at or adjacent to the site of the post-ESD scar. En bloc and complete resection rates were 97.8% and 93.6%, respectively. The local recurrence rate after ESD was 3.1%. The mean follow-up period after ESD was 50.7 ± 32.5 months. One case of gastric cancer-related death (0.15%) was noted, wherein the patient had refused additive surgical resection after ESD for EGC with lymphatic and deep submucosal invasion. Lesion size ≥15 mm, incomplete histologic resection, undifferentiated adenocarcinoma, scar, and the absence of erythema of the surface were associated with a higher risk of local recurrence. Predicting local recurrence during regular endoscopic surveillance after ESD is important, especially in patients with a larger lesion size (≥15 mm), incomplete histologic resection, surface changes of scars, and no erythema of the surface.

A Prediction Model Based on the Risk Factors Associated with Pathological Upgrading in Patients with Early-Stage Gastric Neoplasms Diagnosed by Endoscopic Forceps Biopsy

Background/Aims

The discrepancies between the diagnosis of preoperative endoscopic forceps biopsy (EFB) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in patients with early gastric neoplasm (EGN) exist objectively. Among them, pathological upgrading directly influences the accuracy and appropriateness of clinical decisions. The aims of this study were to investigate the risk factors for the discrepancies, with a particular focus on pathological upgrading and to establish a prediction model for estimating the risk of pathological upgrading after EFB.

Methods

We retrospectively collected the records of 978 patients who underwent ESD from December 1, 2017 to July 31, 2021 and who had a final histopathology determination of EGN. A nomogram to predict the risk of pathological upgrading was constructed after analyzing subgroup differences among the 901 lesions enrolled.

Results

The ratio of pathological upgrading was 510 of 953 (53.5%). Clinical, laboratorial and endoscopic characteristics were analyzed using univariable and binary multivariable logistic regression analyses. A nomogram was constructed by including age, history of chronic atrophic gastritis, symptoms of digestive system, blood high density lipoprotein concentration, macroscopic type, pathological diagnosis of EFB, uneven surface, remarkable redness, and lesion size. The C-statistics were 0.804 (95% confidence interval, 0.774 to 0.834) and 0.748 (95% confidence interval, 0.664 to 0.832) in the training and validation set, respectively. We also built an online webserver based on the proposed nomogram for convenient clinical use.

Conclusions

The clinical value of identifying the preoperative diagnosis of EGN lesions is limited when using EFB separately. We have developed a nomogram that can predict the probability of pathological upgrading with good calibration and discrimination value.

Tumor heterogeneity and carcinoma in resected specimens of gastric low-grade dysplasia: A retrospective single center study

Lesions diagnosed as gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD) may be pathologically upgraded to early gastric cancer (EGC) or high-grade dysplasia (HGD) after endoscopic resection (ER). In this study, we investigated the risk factors for pathological upgrades after ER and assessed the reason for these upgrades by retrospectively analyzing ER data between January 1999 and December 2019. We enrolled patients with LGD confirmed by forceps biopsy; the patients were classified into pathologically concordant (LGD) and upgraded (HGD and EGC) groups according to the pathology of their resected specimen. To determine the risk factors for upgrade, we compared the endoscopic findings of the concordant and upgraded groups via 1:1 matched case-control design. To find the reasons for discordance, all upgraded cases were pathologically re-evaluated. Among 1,643 cases of LGD, pathological upgrades were observed in 423 (25.7%) resected specimens and EGC was found in 111 (6.7%) lesions. After matching the upgraded and concordant cases, lesion sizes exceeding 1.5 cm (odds ratio (OR): 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1-3.0), mucosal nodularity (OR: 10.8; 95% CI: 5.6-21.0), heterogeneous color (OR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.7-5.3), presence of erosion (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.8-5.3), and open-type gastric atrophy (OR: 2.9; 95% CI: 1.7-4.9) were noted to be significantly associated with upgraded pathology to EGC. Among the EGC cases, 99 (89.2%) were found to have pre-existing dysplasia. In conclusion, endoscopic evaluations should be performed because of possible pathological upgrades and co-existence of carcinomas in LGDs, especially when they exhibit surface nodularity, erosion, heterogeneous color, and large size.

Chinese integrated guideline on the management of gastric precancerous conditions and lesions

The standardized diagnosis and management of gastric precancerous conditions and lesions are important to prevent gastric cancer. This guideline, created by 5 traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine associations, based on the current morbidity and diagnosis and treatment of gastric precancerous conditions and lesions, provides specific key points and strategies for diagnosis and treatment in the following five aspects: definition and epidemiology, diagnosis and stage, surveillance, treatment and efficacy evaluation. It is hoped that these aspects, assessed by integrating Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine and involving multidisciplinary participation, will play a guiding role in clinical diagnosis and treatment and achieve effective secondary prevention of gastric cancer.

Establishment and Validation of a Pathologic Upgrade Prediction Nomogram Model for Gastric Low-Grade Intraepithelial Neoplasia Patients After the Eradication of Helicobacter pylori

BACKGROUND

As yet, there is no unified method of treatment for the evaluation and management of gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) worldwide.

METHODS

Patients with gastric LGIN who had been treated with Helicobacter pylori eradication were gathered retrospectively. Based on several relevant characteristics described and analyzed by LASSO regression analysis and multivariable logistic regression, a prediction nomogram model was established. C-index, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration plot, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were adopted to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the model.

RESULTS

A total of 309 patients with LGIN were randomly divided into the training groups and the validation groups. LASSO regression analysis and multivariable logistic regression identified that 6 variables including gender, size, location, borderline, number, and erosion were independent risk factors. The nomogram model displayed good discrimination with a C-index of .765 (95% confidence interval: .702-.828). The accuracy and reliability of the model were also verified by an AUC of .764 in the training group and .757 in the validation group. Meanwhile, the calibration curve and the DCA suggested that the predictive nomogram had promising accuracy and clinical utility.

CONCLUSIONS

A predictive nomogram model was constructed and proved to be clinically applicable to identify high-risk groups with possible pathologic upgrade in patients with gastric LGIN. Since it is regarded that strengthening follow-up or endoscopic treatment of high-risk patients may contribute to improving the detection rate or reducing the incidence of gastric cancer, the predictive nomogram model provides a reliable basis for the treatment of LGIN.

Comparison of Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation and Argon Plasma Coagulation in Patients with Gastric Low-Grade Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

Gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) is a precancerous lesion of gastric cancer. Endoscopic therapies represented by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and argon plasma coagulation (APC) have been applied to treat gastric LGIN in recent years. However, no comparative study examining the effectiveness and safety profiles of RFA and APC has been reported.

METHODS

A single-center, large-scale, retrospective study, including 73 and 50 patients treated with RFA and APC, respectively, was conducted in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from October 2015 to October 2020, with a two-year follow-up. Effectiveness, complications, operative factors, and other data were assessed.

RESULTS

At 2 years of follow-up, cure, relapse, recurrence, and progression rates were 90.4%, 9.6%, 9.6%, and 2.7% in the RFA group, respectively, versus 90%, 10%, 12%, and 4% in the APC group, respectively, with no statistically significant differences between the two groups (all p > 0.05). However, the mean lesion size was significantly larger in the RFA group (2.6 ± 1.0 cm) than in the APC group (1.5 ± 0.6 cm) (p < 0.001); there was also a significant difference in the composition ratio of large lesions between the two groups (p < 0.001). No serious postoperative complications showed in either group, and the abdominal pain was the most common symptom in the short term after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

RFA and APC are both safe and effective destructive therapies for gastric LGIN. RFA is more suitable for flat and large lesions, while APC is more suitable for small lesions, especially those with slight local uplift or depression. An intraoperative submucosal injection is expected to be an effective method for relieving postoperative abdominal pain.

Clinical efficacy and prognostic risk factors of endoscopic radiofrequency ablation for gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia

BACKGROUND

The use of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been reported in the treatment of gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN). However, its efficacy and prognostic risk factors have not been well analyzed.

AIM

To explore the efficacy and prognostic risk factors of RFA for gastric LGIN in a large, long-term follow-up clinical study.

METHODS

The clinical data of 271 consecutive cases from 198 patients who received RFA for treatment of gastric LGIN at the Chinese PLA General Hospital from October 2014 to October 2020 were reviewed in this retrospective study. Data on operative parameters, complications, and follow-up outcomes including curative rates were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

The curative rates of endoscopic RFA for gastric LGIN at 3 mo, 6 mo, and 1-5 years after the operation were 93.3%, 92.8%, 91.5%, 90.3%, 88.5%, 85.7%, and 83.3%, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and disease duration > 1 year had a significant effect on the curative rate (P < 0.001 and P = 0.013, respectively). None of patients had bleeding, perforation, infection, or other serious complications after RFA, and the main discomfort was postoperative abdominal pain.

CONCLUSION

RFA was safe and effective for gastric LGIN during long-term follow-up. H. pylori infection and disease course > 1 year may be the main risk factors for relapse of LGIN after RFA.

Endoscopic characteristics in predicting prognosis of biopsy-diagnosed gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic biopsy can underestimate gastric malignancies as low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN). Definitively diagnosed LGIN would progress. This study aimed to evaluate predictive factors to identify malignancies misdiagnosed as LGIN by biopsy and LGIN at high risk of progression.

METHODS

The clinical records of patients diagnosed with gastric LGIN by endoscopic biopsy who underwent at least two endoscopies during the first year of follow-up between 2007 and 2017 were retrospectively collected. Three endoscopists reviewed photographs of the initial endoscopy, described lesion characteristics, and made endoscopic diagnoses. Logistic regression was used to analyze predictors to identify malignancies underestimated as LGIN. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of these predictors. Patient clinical outcomes of follow-up >1 year were collected. Kaplan-Meier estimates with log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to analyze predictors of progression.

RESULTS

Overall, 48 of 182 (26.4%) patients were proven to have malignancies. A single lesion, a large lesion size, and marked intestinal metaplasia (IM) were independent predictors of initially misdiagnosed malignancies. The area under the curve of these predictors was 0.871, with a sensitivity of 68.7% and specificity of 92.5%. Twelve of 98 patients (12.2%) progressed during the 33-month median follow-up period. A whitish appearance, irregular margins, marked IM, and histological diagnosis of LGIN more than twice within the first year were predictors for progression.

CONCLUSIONS

Lesions diagnosed as LGIN by biopsy with marked IM and other predictors above should be prudently treated for high potential to be malignancies or progress. Endoscopic follow-up with repeated biopsies within the first year is recommended.

Clinical Outcomes of Endoscopic Resection for Low-Grade Dysplasia and High-Grade Dysplasia on Gastric Pretreatment Biopsy: Korea ESD Study Group

Background/Aims

Some cases of gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD) and high-grade dysplasia (HGD) on forceps biopsy (FB) are diagnosed as gastric cancer (GC) after endoscopic resection (ER). This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes of ER for gastric LGD and HGD on pretreatment FB and to identify the factors that predict pathologic upstaging to GC.

Methods

Patients who underwent ER for LGD and HGD on pretreatment FB from March 2005 to February 2018 in 14 hospitals in South Korea were enrolled, and the patients’ medical records were reviewed retrospectively.

Results

This study included 2,150 cases of LGD and 1,534 cases of HGD diagnosed by pretreatment FB. In total, 589 of 2,150 LGDs (27.4%) were diagnosed as GC after ER. Helicobacterpylori infection, smoking history, tumor location in the lower third of the stomach, tumor size >10 mm, depressed lesion, and ulceration significantly predicted GC. A total of 1,115 out of 1,534 HGDs (72.7%) were diagnosed with GC after ER. Previous history of GC, H. pylori infection, smoking history, tumor location in the lower third of the stomach, tumor size >10 mm, depressed lesion, and ulceration were significantly associated with GC. As the number of risk factors predicting GC increased in both LGD and HGD on pretreatment FB, the rate of upstaging to GC after ER increased.

Conclusions

A substantial proportion of LGDs and HGDs on pretreatment FB were diagnosed as GC after ER. Accurate ER procedures such as endoscopic submucosal dissection should be recommended in cases of LGD and HGD with factors predicting pathologic upstaging to GC.

Incidence Rate of Gastric Cancer Adenocarcinoma in Patients With Gastric Dysplasia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Several studies have reported the risk of progression to gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) in patients with gastric dysplasia (GD); however, the findings are controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the incidence rate of GAC among patients with GD. Using a comprehensive search strategy, we systematically searched online databases including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for identifying all relevant original articles through inception until July 2018. Cochran Q and I tests were used to assess heterogeneities between included studies. The incidence rates of GAC and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effect or fixed-effect models. Of the 1980 retrieved records, 30 eligible articles (61 studies) were included. The overall pooled incidence rate of GAC was 40.36 (95% CI, 27.08-55.71; I, 96.0%) cases per 1000 person-years in patients with GD. Subgroup analysis according to the type of GD indicated the highest incidence rate of GAC was 186.40 (95% CI, 106.63-285.60; I, 94.6%) per 1000 person-years among patients with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) lesions. Although the incidence rates of GAC in low-grade dysplasia (LGD) lesions and in nonclassified lesions were 11.25 (95% CI, 3.91-21.22; I, 89.3%), and 1.40 (95% CI, 0.00-9.71; I, 78.8%), respectively. Compared with patients with LGD lesions, progression rate from GD to GAC was roughly 16 times greater in patients with HGD lesions. As the majority of patients with GAC are diagnosed in an advanced stage our study suggests strict management of HGD lesions to prevent GAC.

Risk factors associated with histological upgrade of gastric low-grade dysplasia on pretreatment biopsy

OBJECTIVES

Histological discrepancies between biopsy and resection specimens are common. In this study, we aimed to analyze the risk factors predicting histological upgrade or downgrade of biopsy-diagnosed gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD).

METHODS

The medical records of patients with 104 biopsy-diagnosed gastric LGD from January 2011 to December 2017 were collected. The association of endoscopic characteristics with histological discrepancies between the biopsy and resection specimens was analyzed. The risk factors for histological upgrade were studied using the multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

Among the 104 lesions, 88 were removed by endoscopic resection and 16 were monitored. The upgrade and downgrade rates of the pathological diagnosis were 48.9% and 12.5%, respectively. Lesion size >20 mm, surface redness and positive results in magnifying endoscopy with narrow band imaging (ME-NBI) were risk factors for histological upgrade. Compared with the negative ME-NBI group, the positive ME-NBI group had a higher upgrade rate (56.8% vs 7.1%) but a lower downgrade rate (2.7% vs 64.3%). In addition, 11 of the 16 the gastric LGD with negative ME-NBI findings were monitored, and all 11 lesions regressed to gastritis during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic resection should be recommended in cases of LGD showing surface redness, with a lesion size of >20 mm or positive ME-NBI result, whereas regular follow-up may be an option for LGD with negative ME-NBI result.