LU konference
There is a difference of opinion among experts regarding the determination of the level of risk of pre-cancerous gastric conditions and the performance of appropriate follow-up examinations at regular intervals to assess the potential risk of developing gastric cancer. Researchers from the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia (LU KPMI) have contributed to solving this issue in cooperation with the world's leading gastric morphology specialists from the USA, and the material for the study was obtained in Kazakhstan. The incidence of gastric cancer is very high in this country, but the prevalence of defined pre-cancerous conditions is surprisingly low compared to countries with a high incidence of cancer.
The Kazakh pilot study involved 166 relatively healthy people aged 40 to 64 who underwent upper endoscopy by doctors. During it, they took three tissue samples from five different places in the stomach. The obtained gastric biopsy specialists examined with pathological methods, including staining preparations with special chemicals (hematoxylin-eosin, Alcyanine-PAS and high-value iron diamine method) to determine the transformation of the outer layer (epithelium) of the gastric mucosa or the so-called intestinal metaplasia.
Last week (May 14), one of the world's leading pathology journals, VIRCHOWS ARCHIV, published the results of a study by KPMI scientists showing that it is the type of incomplete intestinal metaplasia that may indicate the possible initial development of a malignancy that is common in the relatively healthy population of Kazakhstan. These people do not otherwise qualify for the high-risk group according to morphological criteria and should not be subjected to follow-up after a certain period of time under current guidelines. This means that a significantly large group of high-risk individuals may go unnoticed without specific staining for biopsy material analysis to assess these gastric mucosal changes.
The obtained data can be important not only in the populations of Central Asia, but also elsewhere, including Latvia, because such specific staining for the determination of intestinal metaplasia subtypes is performed on a daily basis in only a few laboratories in the European Union. They would help diagnose stomach cancer in a timely manner, which would provide a better chance of treatment.
The online version of the article has been published - ej.uz/vezariski
 of the University of Latvia on determining the risk level of pre-cancerous gastric conditions. The study concluded that certain additional tests should be performed on stomach samples to detect the risk of tumor in a timely manner.){kind=link}