The role of high-resolution endoscopy and narrow-band imaging in the evaluation of upper GI neoplasia in familial adenomatous polyposis.

BACKGROUND

The Spigelman classification stratifies cancer risk in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients with duodenal adenomatosis. High-resolution endoscopy (HRE) and narrow-band imaging (NBI) may identify lesions at high risk.

OBJECTIVE

To compare HRE and NBI for the detection of duodenal and gastric polyps and to characterize duodenal adenomas harboring advanced histology with HRE and NBI.

DESIGN

Prospective, nonrandomized, comparative study. Retrospective image evaluation study.

SETTING

Tertiary-care center.

PATIENTS

Thirty-seven FAP patients undergoing surveillance upper endoscopies.

INTERVENTION

HRE endoscopy was followed by NBI. The number of gastric polyps and Spigelman staging were compared. Duodenal polyp images were systematically reviewed in a learning and validation phase.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

Number of gastric and duodenal polyps detected by HRE and NBI and prevalence of specific endoscopic features in duodenal adenomas with advanced histology.

RESULTS

NBI did not identify additional gastric polyps but detected more duodenal adenomas in 16 examinations, resulting in upgrades of the Spigelman stage in 2 cases (4.4%). Pictures of 168 duodenal adenomas (44% advanced histology) were assessed. In the learning phase, 3 endoscopic features were associated with advanced histology: white color, enlarged villi, and size ≥1 cm. Only size ≥1 cm was confirmed in the validation phase (odds ratio 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-7.4).

LIMITATIONS

Nonrandomized study, scant number of high-grade dysplasia adenomas.

CONCLUSION

Inspection with NBI did not lead to a clinically relevant upgrade in the Spigelman classification and did not improve the detection of gastric polyps in comparison with HRE. The only endoscopic feature that predicted advanced histology of a duodenal adenoma was size ≥1 cm.