Gastric Atrophy

The purpose of this study is to create a registry of participants with precursor lesions for gastric cancer, including gastric atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia. Normal controls and individuals with gastric cancer for comparison of baseline characteristics will also be enrolled.

This research study is taking place to find out if a simple blood test can diagnose inflammation in the stomach. Prolonged inflammation in the stomach can lead to Ulcers and even Cancer in the long run. Currently, a camera test is needed to identify inflammation in the stomach. The method being tested in this study may be able to do this using just a pinprick of blood. If this test proves to be good at diagnosing inflammation in the stomach with just a pinprick of blood, it may be used in the future to decide who actually needs to have a full camera test done or not. This could really improve the waiting lists for these camera tests in the future. It may also mean that we can identify problems at an earlier stage.

The project will aim to identify and determine subgroups of patients with different risks of progression to gastric cancer and to assess appropriate follow-up intervals. Implementing risk stratification only high risk individuals will be offered and performed endoscopic surveillance.