ABSTRACT
Background: Gastric intestinal metaplasia is considered an irreversible preneoplastic precursor for adult gastric intestinal-type adenocarcinoma. Helicobacter pylori infection remains the leading etiologic factor for non-cardia gastric cancer in adults. On the other hand, the natural history and significance of intestinal metaplasia in children remain poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the long-term outcome of gastric intestinal metaplasia diagnosed in childhood.
Methods: All children (≤18 years) diagnosed with gastric intestinal metaplasia between 2000 and 2020 were identified at a tertiary paediatric referral centre. Upon reaching adulthood (≥18 years), the patients were invited to undergo follow-up esophagogastroduodenoscopy (using narrowed-spectrum endoscopy additionally to high-definition white light), with gastric biopsies obtained according to the updated Sydney system biopsy protocol. Childhood and adulthood gastric biopsies were re-evaluated by two experienced gastrointestinal pathologists using Kreyberg staining.
Results: Paediatric gastric intestinal metaplasia was diagnosed in 178/14, 409 (1.2%) esophagogastroduodenoscopies performed during the study period. Fifty adult patients with childhood gastric intestinal metaplasia agreed to participate in the study and underwent follow-up endoscopy. The mean age at childhood and adulthood endoscopies were 14.3 years (median 15) and 25.2 years (median 24), respectively. The mean interval between both samplings was 10.5 years (range 2-22 years). All childhood gastric metaplasia cases were classified as complete type. Notably, gastric intestinal metaplasia completely resolved in 41/50 patients (82%) by the time of adulthood follow-up. No dysplasia or carcinoma was detected in any patient. Childhood Helicobacter pylori infection, similar to other evaluated host-related factors, was not significantly associated with the persistence of gastric intestinal metaplasia into adulthood (11.2% vs. 29.3%, p = 0.414).
Conclusion: Childhood gastric intestinal metaplasia was a rare finding, but demonstrated a high rate of reversibility by adulthood regardless of Helicobacter pylori status, with no cases of dysplasia or carcinoma observed during long-term follow-up.
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