Differences in the Microsurface and Microvascular Features between Early Gastric Cancer of Corpus and Antrum under Narrow Band Imaging Magnifying Endoscopy

Objectives Microsurface structure (MS) and microvascular features (MV) of early gastric cancer (EGC) are associated with the histologic type, invasion depth and macroscopic shape of lesions. However, no studies have reported the differences in the MS and MV features between EGCs of antrum and corpus under magnifying endoscopy with narrow band imaging (ME-NBI).Methods This is a retrospective study including 116 patients with EGC. The characteristics of MS and MV pattern of EGC were evaluated in 2 group, antrum type and corpus type.Results According to the Sakaki’s classification, the MS of EGCs presented as IV, V1 or VI typein in sequence, one level higher than the previous type in the degree of atypia. Tumor location and differentiated degree were identified as independent predictors for MS pattern. For the probability of at least one level higher, in the MS pattern, the corporal EGCs was 5.84 times as high as that of antral EGCs ( χ 2 =9.42, P=0.002, 95%CI 1.89-18.05), and undifferentiated-type lesions was 8.82 times as high as that of the differentiated-type lesions ( χ 2 =11.67, P=0.001, 95%CI 2.53-30.76). No difference in the MV pattern was observed between antral EGCs and corporal EGCs (P=0.7), while the microvascular pattern and microsurface pattern (VS pattern, FNP, ILL-1, ILL-2 and CSP) were significantly different between those 2 groups (P=0.001).Conclusions There are significant differences in the MS and VS pattern of EGC between antrum and corpus types. The antral EGC is less obvious than the corporal EGC, therefore, it is more likely to be missed in clinical gastroscopy.