The effect of incisura angularis biopsy sampling on the assessment of gastritis stage

OBJECTIVESIt is important to stratify patients according to the magnitude of risk for gastric cancer development; the OLGA (Operative Link for Gastritis Assessment) and OLGIM (Operative Link on Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia) staging systems of lesions in the stomach mucosa have been proposed for this purpose. There are some discrepancies in the current guidelines regarding the value of incisura angularis biopsies. The aim of our study was to assess the value of incisura angularis biopsy in staging gastritis according to the OLGA and OLGIM systems by examining the atrophic, metaplastic and inflammatory changes in the antrum, incisura angularis and corpus. PATIENTS AND METHODSWe enrolled 835 patients undergoing upper endoscopy. Three expert gastrointestinal pathologists graded biopsy specimens according to the Sydney classification and the stage of gastritis was assessed by the OLGA and OLGIM systems. RESULTSThe results demonstrated that severe atrophic, metaplastic and chronic inflammatory changes were more frequently observed in the incisura angularis mucosa than in the antrum or corpus mucosae (P