Theme |
Precancerous Lesions in the Digestive System |
Title |
Atrophic Gastritis as a Precancerous Condition for Gastric Cancer |
Author |
Masaharu Yoshihara |
First Department of Internal Meditine, Hiroshima University School of Medicine |
Author |
Ken Haruma |
First Department of Internal Meditine, Hiroshima University School of Medicine |
[ Summary ] |
Atrophic gastritis has been considered to be a precancerous condition for gastric carcinoma, especially intestinal-type carcinoma, based on epidemiological, clinicopathological and gastric functional studies. Two pathways ofgastric carcinogenesis have been suggested by histopathogenetic or molecular biological studies. Intestinal-type gastric carcinoma is closely related to atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia. Recently, many reports have shown the close relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection and gastritis. It is well known that H.pylori infection is the most important factor in atrophic gastritis. On the other hand, the effect of H.pylori infection on themechanismof gastric carcinogenesis has not been clarified. |