Early gastric neoplasia: diagnosis and implications

Early gastric neoplasia, which includes dysplasia and adenocarcinoma invading no more than the submucosa have been the subject of numerous studies in recent years. For example, different dysplastic phenotypes have been identified, in addition to the traditional adenomatous type, foveolar, pyloric, and tubule-neck dysplasia (associated with diffuse type carcinoma) have been recognized. Each subtype of dysplasia shows a different immunohistochemical profile, and may vary in their risk of progression to adenocarcinoma. With regard to early gastric cancer the emergence of better diagnostic techniques allowed the development of endoscopic techniques such as endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal resection that nowadays allow optimal nonsurgical management. The purpose of this review is to discuss the current concepts in gastric dysplasia and early gastric cancer as they relate to diagnosis and management.