Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 7, 2013; 19(13): 2092-2096
Published online Apr 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i13.2092
Missed diagnosis of early gastric cancer or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia
Wei Ren, Jin Yu, Zhi-Mei Zhang, Yuan-Kun Song, Yi-Hui Li, Lei Wang
Wei Ren, Jin Yu, Zhi-Mei Zhang, Yuan-Kun Song, Yi-Hui Li, Lei Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, Xin Qiao Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
Author contributions: Ren W wrote the paper; Yu J, Zhang ZM analyzed the data; Song YK, Li YH provided the analytic tools; Wang L designed the research.
Correspondence to: Lei Wang, MD, Departments of Gastroenterology, Xin Qiao Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China. butterfly131@126.com
Telephone: +86-23-68774665 Fax: +86-23-68774665
Received: December 17, 2012
Revised: January 31, 2013
Accepted: February 5, 2013
Published online: April 7, 2013
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the causes of missed diagnosis of early gastric cancer (EGC) or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) in Chongqing, China.

METHODS: The present study summarizes 103 cases of EGC/HGIN detected by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and pathological analysis from January 2010 to December 2011. Dimethyl silicone oil was administrated orally 15 min before the EGD procedures. The stomach was cleaned by repeated washing with saline when the gastroscope entered the stomach cavity. Suspected EGC lesions were subject to conventional biopsy sampling and pathological examinations. The correlation between lesion locations, endoscopic morphology of cancerous sites, training level of the examiners, pathological biopsies, and missed diagnosis was analyzed.

RESULTS: Twenty-three cases were missed among the 103 cases (22.23%) of EGC/HGIN. The rate of missed EGC in the gastroesophageal junction (8/19, 42.1%) was significantly higher than at other sites (15/84, 17.86%) (χ2 = 5.253, P = 0.022). In contrast, the rate of missed EGC in the lower stomach body (2/14, 14.29%) was lower than at other sites (21/89, 23.6%), but there were no significant differences (χ2 = 0.289, P = 0.591). The rate of missed EGC in the gastric antrum (5/33, 15.15%) was lower than at other sites (18/70, 25.71%), but there were no significant differences (χ2 = 1.443, P = 0.230). Endoscopists from less prestigious hospitals were more prone to not diagnosing EGC than those from more prestigious hospitals (χ2 = 4.261, P = 0.039). When the number of biopsies was < 4, the rate of missed diagnosis was higher (20/23, 89.96%) than for when there were > 4 biopsies (3/23, 13.04%) (P < 0.001). In addition, there was no significant difference in the rate of missed diagnosis in patients with 1-3 biopsy specimens (χ2 = 0.141, P = 0.932).

CONCLUSION: Endoscopists should have a clear understanding of the anatomical characteristics of the esophagus/stomach, and endoscopic identification of early lesions increases with the number of biopsies.

Keywords: Missed diagnosis, Early gastric cancer, High-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, Endoscopic diagnosis, Biopsies

Core tip: Early gastric cancer (EGC) detection rate in China is much lower than that in Japan, where > 80% of EGC is detected. How to avoid missed diagnosis of EGC is most important for digestive endoscopy practice. We found that there were many influencing factors for missed diagnosis of EGC. The most critical issue for endoscopists to avoid missed diagnosis is being cautious about each individual patient.