The ‘reversibility’ of chronic atrophic gastritis after the eradication of Helicobacter pylori

ABSTRACT

Gram-negative bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is lifelong and usually acquired in childhood, which is etiologically linked to gastric cancer (GC). H. pylori gastritis is defined as an infectious disease with varying severity in virtually all infected subjects. Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is the precancerous condition with the decrease or the loss of gastric glands, which can further be replaced by metaplasia or fibrosis. Patients with advanced stages of CAG are at higher risk of GC and should be followed up with a high-quality endoscopy every 3 years. H. pylori infection is the most common cause and its eradication is recommended, which may contribute to the regression of CAG. However, it is controversial whether CAG is reversible after eradication therapy. In the review, we discuss recent studies which provide important insights into whether CAG is ‘reversibility’ and when it may progress into GC after eradicating H. pylori.

KEYWORDS:

• Chronic atrophic gastritis
• Helicobacter pylori
• pathogenesis
• management
• reversibility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Hang Yang and Bing Hu conceived the study. Hang Yang drafted the article. Bing Hu reviewed the manuscript. Hang Yang, Xinyue Zhou and Bing Hu revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for the production of this manuscript.