Gastric xanthelasma may be a warning sign for the presence of early gastric cancer

Background and Aim The significance of gastric xanthelasma in relation to gastric disease still remains unclear. We investigated the prevalence and significance of gastric xanthelasma in patients with atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer. Methods A total of 3238 patients who underwent endoscopic examinations of the upper gastrointestinal tract were enrolled. We retrospectively investigated the presence of gastric xanthelasma, the severity of gastric atrophy, and the presence of gastric cancer, and examined the relationship between gastric xanthelasma and various clinicopathological features. Results Gastric xanthelasma was detected in 249 (7.7%) of the 3238 patients and was significantly associated with age ≥ 65 years, male gender, open-type atrophy, and the presence of gastric cancer (P