Diagnostic Performance of Linked Color Imaging Compared to White Light Imaging During Secondary Endoscopic Evaluation in Patients with Gastric Neoplasia Referred for Endoscopic Resection: A Randomized Comparative Study

TL;DR

This study compares two endoscopic imaging techniques for detecting early gastric cancer and finds that one method improves detection speed and performance.

Contribution

The study provides empirical evidence on the performance of linked color imaging versus white light imaging in detecting gastric neoplasia.

Findings

LCI had higher detection sensitivity (94.23%) compared to WLI (86.54%), though not statistically significant.

LCI reduced tumor detection time by nearly 20 seconds compared to WLI.

Type IIb morphology tumors were more likely to be missed during initial detection.

Abstract

Linked color imaging (LCI) has been shown to improve the visibility of gastric lesions and may enhance the detection of gastric superficial neoplasia (GSN). The aim was to compare the detection performance of LCI versus white light imaging (WLI) in patients referred for endoscopic resection of GSNs.

In this randomized prospective comparative study, patients who were referred for endoscopic resection of gastric adenoma or early gastric cancer (ECG) were assigned to either the LCI or WLI group. Initial endoscopic evaluation was performed using the assigned mode (LCI or WLI), followed by a second examination using the alternate mode. The primary outcome was detection sensitivity for GSNs.

Ninety-five patients with 104 lesions were analyzed: 48 in the LCI group and 47 in the WLI group. Detection sensitivity at first observation was 94.23% in the LCI group and 86.54% in the WLI group (P = .122). The mean tumor detection time was significantly shorter in the LCI group (54.2 ± 38.4 seconds) than in the WLI group (74.0 ± 55.5 seconds; P = .049). Tumors with type IIb morphology were significantly more likely to be missed than tumors with other morphologies (P = .014).

Linked color imaging may improve lesion detection performance and efficiency during the endoscopic evaluation of GSNs.

Figures