Gastric ulcer

Abstract

In the past there were attempts in Japan to predict refractory gastric ulcer by mainly analyzing its radiological or endoscopic images and take this information in account for its treatment. I myself also used to emphasize the importance of assessing the quality of healing by the analysis of magnified endoscopic findings of gastric ulcer scar. In the era of H.pylori, however, eradication of H.pylori has come to be widely done with its marked effect in preventing relapse of gastric ulcer, and the significance of endoscopic diagnosis has come to be diminished. Since iradication therapy cures the majority of peptic ulcer, the significance has become limited to assess the appearance of healing of individual ulcers by repeated endoscopies. In the medical practice of gastric ulcer, endoscopy has to focus its attention on the differential diagnosis, namely, of whether the lesion is maliganant or not.