[Intestinal metaplasia of the gastric mucosa and its relation with gastric carcinoma]

Epidemical and morphological studies have show that there is an association between intestinal metaplasia (IM) and gastric carcinoma, and it has been considered by many to be a possible marker of premalignant change. IM is also a common finding in benign disease of the stomach, however, and recent studies have therefore been direct at identifying variants of intestinal metaplasia which may have a more specific association with gastric carcinoma. Also, it has been demonstrated that exist another factors that contribute (as the Helicobacter Pylori), which determine some events like the transformation of chronic gastritis to gastric carcinoma, preceded by the presence of metaplastic changes in gastric mucosa.