Background and Aims Gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) is a gastric cancer precursor. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) may improve detection of GIM. We compared detection of GIM with high-definition ...white-light (HD-WL) endoscopy, NBI, and mapping biopsies in a population with increased gastric cancer risk. Methods Patients undergoing upper endoscopy had HD-WL examination by 1 endoscopist, followed by an NBI examination by a second endoscopist blinded to HD-WL findings. The location of abnormalities detected by HD-WL and NBI were recorded by a research coordinator, and targeted biopsies of abnormal areas were performed after NBI. Subsequently, 5 mapping biopsies were performed per patient. Biopsy specimens were read by a pathologist blinded to mode of acquisition. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with GIM. Results We enrolled 112 patients: 107 (96%) were Hispanic or Asian, and 34 (30%) had GIM. Higher proportions of patients with GIM were detected by NBI (22/34 65%) and mapping (26/34 76%) versus HD-WL (10/34 29%) ( P < .005 for both comparisons). GIM was detected by NBI in only 6 patients and only by mapping biopsy in 10 patients; no patient had GIM detected solely by HD-WL. Higher proportions of sites with GIM also were detected with NBI (30/57 53%) and mapping biopsies (38/57 67%) than HD-WL (16/57 28%) ( P < .005 for both comparisons). The median number of biopsies per patient with mapping biopsies (5) was significantly higher than with NBI (2) or HD-WL (1). Conclusions HD-WL endoscopy is insufficient for detection of GIM in patients at increased risk for gastric cancer. NBI-targeted biopsies plus mapping biopsies should be used. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT02197351 .)
