Nuclear volume in type I gastric intestinal metaplasia

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively compare nuclear size of epithelial cells in t ype I intestinal metaplasia (IM) from various pathologic lesions of gastric mucosa. STUDY DESIGN: Endoscopic mucosal biopsies with type I IM from intestinal ty pe gastric carcinoma (n = 25), chronic gastritis (n = 40) and benign ulcer (n = 32) cases were analyzed. After standard fixation, embedding, sectionin g, routine hematoxylin and eosin and alcian blue-periodic acid-Schiff react ion (pH 1.0 and 2.5) staining were used for identification of IM. The mean point sampled nuclear intercept was estimated by the original test system a nd 100x objective at a total magnification of 1,200x. To obtain the mean nu clear volume, the cubed nuclear intercept was multiplied by pi/3. In each c ase 100 epithelial cell nuclei were analyzed. RESULTS: In type I IM in gastric carcinoma cases there was significantly gr eater nuclear volume (118.34 +/- 10.32 mu m(3)) than in type I IM in other pathologic states of gastric mucosa (77.72 +/- 8.58 mu m(3)). CONCLUSION: The karyometric findings of the present study suggest a differe nce between type I IM found in benign pathologic states and type I IM found in gastric mucosa surrounding carcinoma, despite morphologic and histochem ical similarities. Nuclear volume may be used in early detection of precanc erous states of gastric mucosa.