Incidence of metachronous gastric cancer in patients whose primary gastric neoplasms were discovered after Helicobacter pylori eradication

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The incidence of metachronous gastric cancer (MGC) in patients whose primary gastric neoplasm is discovered after Helicobacter pylori eradication remains unclear. Here, we evaluated the long-term effect of previous H pylori eradication on development of MGC after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).

METHODS

We analyzed prospectively collected data of consecutive patients with successful H pylori eradication more than 1 year before (eradicated group, 180 patients) or after (control group, 602 patients) initial curative ESD. These patients were also followed by endoscopy for over 2 years. Propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were used to adjust for confounding variables during data analysis. The main outcome was the incidence of MGC after initial ESD.

RESULTS

In a propensity-matched analysis of 174 pairs, the incidence of MGC was similar in the 2 cohorts (33.9 per 1000 person-years vs 40.8 per 1000 person-years in the control group, P = .454) at a median follow-up of 4.1 years (interquartile range, 3.0-5.6). Incidences were also similar in the 2 groups when data were analyzed using IPTW, even after exclusion of 123 patients with successful H pylori eradication <5 years before initial ESD. Multiple Cox regression analysis revealed age, differentiated-type histology, and initial multiplicity were predictors of MGC in patients after initial curative ESD.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of follow-up surveillance after initial curative ESD should be kept constant, irrespective of whether H pylori eradication is performed before or after initial curative ESD.

Comparison of Different Parathyroid Hormone Radioimmunoassays in Uremic Patients with Secondary Hyperparathyroidism

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) were measured by three different radioimmunoassays (RIA); RIA for mid-region PTH by antibody CH9 (i-PTH) (1), RIA for intact fragments of PTH (intact PTH) and RIA for C-terminal fragments of PTH (PTH-C). PTH levels were higher in CRF patients undergoing hemodialysis therapy (hemodialysis patients) by all three methods. However, PTH levels measured only by i-PTH assay and intact PTH assay were significantly higher in patients with CRF who were not on dialysis (non-dialyzed CRF patients). PTH levels were above normal when creatinine clearance was below 45 ml/min in the intact PTH assay and 66 ml/min in the i-PTH assay. I-PTH levels were well correlated with the severity of osteitis fibrosa evaluated by the degree of periosteal resorption in the digits of hemodialysis patients. Since special handling of the sample is required for the intact PTH assay, i-PTH assay is the most suitable method for diagnosing secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with CRF.