Prevalence of different subtypes of intestinal metaplasia (IM) based on high iron diamine (HID)/alcian blue (pH 2.5) mucin histochemistry
| Diagnostic group | Number of patients evaluated (number of sections) | Type I IM (no. patients) | Type II IM (no. patients) | Type III IM (no. patients) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type I IM: alcian blue positive goblet cells and non-secretory “absorptive-type” cells with no HID or sulfo-Lewisa staining (fig 1A,B). A few isolated mature goblet cells may show HID positivity with corresponding immunoreactivity for sulfo-Lewisa in serial section (100% agreement). Type II IM: alcian blue positive goblets cells and incompletely differentiated “intermediate-type” cells having alcian blue positive apical secretory granules, without HID or sulfo-Lewisa staining (fig 1C,D). The deeper glands, and occasional surface goblet cells, may show HID positivity and corresponding sulfo-Lewisa expression (100% agreement). Type III IM: HID positive goblets cells and incompletely differentiated intermediate-type cells having HID positive apical secretory granules with corresponding sulfo-Lewisa expression (100% agreement). Dysplasia: the dysplastic cells themselves exhibited variable HID staining (mainly localised to the apical membrane) and there was occasional discordance between mucin histochemistry and the sulfo-Lewisa staining (that is, HID negative but sulfo-Lewisa positive; see Results). Adenocarcinoma: the cancer cells themselves exhibited variable HID staining and there was some discordance between mucin histochemistry and the sulfo-Lewisa staining as in dysplastic epithelium (see Results). | ||||
| Barrett’s oesophagus | 13 (38) | 11/13 | 13/13 | 8/13 |
| Barrett’s oesophagus with dysplasia | 8 (35) | 8/8 | 7/8 | 3/8 |
| Barrett’s adenocarcinoma | 3 (7) | 2/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 |
| Gastric IM | 7 (21) | 6/7 | 3/7 | 2/7 |
| Gastric IM with dysplasia | 4 (12) | 1/4 | 3/4 | 2/4 |
| Gastric adenocarcinoma (distal) | 3 (12) | 1/3 | 3/3 | 1/3 |