Subtypes of intestinal metaplasia and their relationship to Helicobacter pylori

The presence of incomplete colonic type of intestinal metaplasia (IM) is regarded as a risk factor for gastric carcinoma. In this study, we attempted to classify the subtypes of IM in our patients and examine their relationship to Helicobacter pylori (HP). Gastric biopsies were obtained from 210 patients. The HP positivity and the presence and type of IM were determined by histopathologic methods. HP positivity was also tested by the CLO test. The subtypes of IM were classified according to Ming's classification. IM was present in 101 of 210 patients (48%). Complete type intestinal metaplasia was present in 72 of 101 patients (71.3%), incomplete type IM was seen in 29 of 101 patients (28.7%), and incomplete colonic type (Type IIc) was found in 7 of 101 patients (6.9%). No significant relationship was found between subtypes of IM and HP positivity (p > 0.05). Although our patient group is small, our findings suggest that the carcinogenity of HP is mostly related to its own mutagenic activity as well as the mutagenic activity of the inflammatory cells present in response to HP rather than to its supposed effect on precancerous gastric lesions.