Helicobacter pylori eradication may influence timing of endoscopic surveillance for gastric cancer in patients with gastric precancerous lesions

Chronic atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia related to Helicobacter pylori infection, are major risk factors for gastric adenocarcinoma. Eradication of H pylori and endoscopy surveillance of precancerous lesions may reduce the risk and/or lead to early detection of gastric cancer improving survival. In this study, the progression of precancerous lesions after H pylori treatment was evaluated.Patients with incomplete or complete intestinal metaplasia and/or gastric atrophy at the index endoscopy, were examined for the extension/histological worsening of precancerous lesions at the endoscopy surveillance for gastric cancer. Progression of lesions was evaluated according to H pylori status, age, and sex. Cox proportional hazard regression model and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate the strength of predictors for lesions progression.Among 105 patients (61 women) H pylori negative patients showed a milder worsening of gastric lesions between index and surveillance endoscopy compared with patients positive for the infection (log-rank test: P < .0001, P = .012, and P = .032 for antrum, angulus, and corpus, respectively). The Cox regression model showed persistence of H pylori infection (hazard ratio = 4.436; P < .0001) as the only relevant factor for lesion progression, whereas age >65 years and sex were not significant predictors.According to literature our results demonstrate that H pylori eradication is the major factor able to delay gastric precancerous lesions progression. Time interval for endoscopic surveillance in patients negative for H pylori infection and with gastric precancerous lesions may be extended.