Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. May 7, 2013; 19(17): 2668-2675
Published online May 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i17.2668
Narrow-band imaging with magnifying endoscopy is accurate for detecting gastric intestinal metaplasia
Edoardo Savarino, Marina Corbo, Pietro Dulbecco, Lorenzo Gemignani, Elisa Giambruno, Luca Mastracci, Federica Grillo, Vincenzo Savarino
Edoardo Savarino, Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
Marina Corbo, Pietro Dulbecco, Lorenzo Gemignani, Elisa Giambruno, Vincenzo Savarino, Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Luca Mastracci, Federica Grillo, Department of Anatomic Pathology, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Author contributions: Savarino E, Corbo M, Dulbecco P and Savarino V designed the research; Savarino E, Corbo M, Dulbecco P and Giambruno E collected data; Savarino E, Corbo M, Dulbecco P, Gemignani L, Mastracci L and Grillo F analysed data; and Savarino E, Corbo M, Gemignani L and Savarino V wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Edoardo Savarino, MD, PhD, Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 16132 Genova, Italy. edoardosavarino@gmail.it
Telephone: +39-10-3538956 Fax: +39-10-3538956
Received: November 11, 2012
Revised: February 14, 2013
Accepted: March 6, 2013
Published online: May 7, 2013
Core Tip

Core tip: Gastric cancer is one of the most common neoplastic diseases in the Western world and has a poor prognosis and inconsistent signs and symptoms in the early phases. Narrow-band imaging with magnifying endoscopy was shown to be a valid method for intestinal metaplasia (IM) detection, this technique can reliably target which patients should be biopsied to evaluate IM and those who do not need biopsies. Moreover, a semi-quantitative evaluation of light blue crest appearance was feasible as there was a good correlation with the histological assessment of IM percentage.