Is Lesion Size an Independent Indication for Endoscopic Resection of Biopsy-Proven Low-Grade Gastric Dysplasia?

The standard treatment for patients with gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD) remains controversial, even though diagnosis of LGD is increasingly common as esophagogastrodeuodenoscopy becomes more available. The aim of this study was to identify a lesion size cut-off as an indication for endoscopic resection (ER) for patients with LGD.

We retrospectively reviewed 285 lesions initially diagnosed as LGD by endoscopic forceps biopsies (EFB) from 2007 to 2010 in Kyung Hee University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. All patients underwent ER. A total of 285 lesions from 257 patients were assessed. After ER, 239 LGD (83.9 %) showed histological concordance and the remaining 46 (16.1 %) cases revealed an upgraded histology [22 high-grade dysplasia (7.7 %), and 24 differentiated adenocarcinoma (8.4 %)]. Univariate analyses demonstrated that lesion size, erythema, depression, and erosion were significant predictors of upgraded LGD (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that a lesion size ≥2 cm, erythema, and a depressed-type lesion were independent predictors of upgraded histology (P = 0.014, odds ratio 3.27, 95 % confidence interval 1.28–8.39).

Our data suggest that a substantial number of LGD diagnoses based on EFB were not representative of the entire lesion. We recommend ER if gastric LGD has at least one of the following risk factors: surface erythema and a depressed type regardless of size, or ≥2 cm size regardless of abnormal surface configuration.