GASTRIC DYSPLASIA - A 10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

The results of a ten-year follow-up study on gastric dysplasia (GD) ar e reported. A total of 260 cases were diagnosed, 125 of which had an a dequate follow-up, 81 Low Grade Dysplasia (LGD) and 44 High Grade Dysp lasia (HGD). Patients with LGD were younger than patients with HGD, wh ile no significant difference in the mean age was found between HGD an d carcinoma. LGD regressed in 49.4% of cases, persisted in 18.5% and p rogressed in 32.1 %. HGD regressed in 4.6%, persisted in 13.6% and pro gressed in 81.8%. In some cases dysplasia reappeared after a long-time interval of apparent regression. In 58 cases progression to cancer wa s observed: in 35 cases dysplasia was associated with carcinoma (8 LGD and 27 HGD), while in 23 cases dysplasia evolved into carcinoma (14 L GD and 9 HGD). There was a good correlation between the accuracy in fo llowing up the patients and the chance of diagnosing the carcinoma at an early stage. The importance of gastric dysplasia as a marker for ca rcinoma, its precancerous nature and the treatment of the patients are discussed.