Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation as a Treatment for High-Risk Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia: A Randomized, Self-Control Study.

Background: Guidelines recommend endoscopic surveillance for gastric cancer without therapeutic intervention every 3 years in patients with high-risk gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in eradicating high-risk GIM.

Methods: This randomized self-control trial was conducted between June 2020 and February 2023. Patients with histology-verified high-risk GIM were enrolled. The endoscopist performed a biopsy on both the left and right sides of the stomach (five each) by targeting the suspected GIM area where available; otherwise, a random biopsy was taken. Patients were randomized to receive a unilateral RFA on either the left or right side. A repeated RFA on the assigned side was performed every 2-3 months for a total of two to three times. The primary outcome was complete resolution of GIM at 1 year after RFA.

Results: Forty-six patients with a mean age of 66 ± 8 years were analyzed. The complete resolution rate of overall GIM lesions after RFA was significantly higher (49/142; 34/5%) than that in the observation group (29/127; 22.8%, RR = 0.84, 0.73-0.98, p = 0.03). For the subgroup analysis, the complete resolution rate after RFA revealed a significantly higher value than observation only in the incomplete GIM group (24/87; 27.6% vs. 11/82; 13.4%, RR = 0.83, 0.71-0.97, p = 0.02). The percentage of patients with extensive GIM regression after RFA (15/25; 60%) was higher than in the observation group (9/25; 36%) but did not meet statistical significance (RR = 0.62, 0.35-1.09, p = 0.09).

Conclusion: In high-risk GIM, RFA can significantly eradicate incomplete GIM when compared with observation alone.