BACKGROUND The Updated Sydney system for visual evaluation of gastric mucosal atrophy via endoscopic observation is subject to sampling error and interobserver variability. The Kimura-Takemoto classification system was developed to overcome these limitations. AIM To compare the morphological classification of atrophic gastritis between the Kimura-Takemoto system and the Updated Sydney system. METHODS A total of 169 patients with atrophic gastritis were selected according to diagnosis by the visual endoscopic Kimura-Takemoto method. Following the Updated Kimura-Takemoto classification system, one antrum biopsy and five gastric corpus biopsies were taken according to the visual stages of the Kimura-Takemoto system. The Updated Kimura-Takemoto classification system was then applied to each and showed 165 to have histological mucosal atrophy; the remaining 4 patients had no histological evidence of atrophy in any biopsy. The Updated Kimura-Takemoto classification was verified as a reference morphological method and applied for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. Adding one more biopsy from the antrum to the six biopsies according to the Updated Kimura-Takemoto classification, constitutes the updated combined Kimura-Takemoto classification and Sydney system. RESULTS The sensitivity for degree of mucosal atrophy assessed by the Updated Sydney system was 25% for mild, 36% for moderate, and 42% for severe, when compared with the Updated Kimura-Takemoto classification of atrophic gastritis for morphological diagnosis. Four types of multifocal atrophic gastritis were identified: sequential uniform (type 1; in 28%), sequential non-uniform (type 2; in 7%), diffuse uniform (type 3; in 23%), diffuse non-uniform (type 4; in 24%), and "alternating atrophic – non-atrophic" (type 5; in 18%). The pattern of the spread of atrophy, sequentially from the antrum to the cardiac segment of the stomach, which was described by the Updated Kimura-Takemoto system, was histologically confirmed in 82% of cases evaluated. CONCLUSION The Updated Sydney system is significantly inferior to the Updated Kimura-Takemoto classification for morphological verification of atrophic gastritis.

Evaluation of serologic markers for atrophic gastritis, such as gastrin-17, pepsinogen-1, pepsinogen-2, the pepsinogen-1/pepsinogen-2 ratio was developed by Biohit; however, this evaluation did not allow us to determin the degree of stomach mucous membrane atrophy in cases of atrophic gastritis. It is critical to identify severe atrophic gastritis during screening as it is considered a precursor condition for gastric cancer.

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