Characteristics of gastric precancerous conditions and Helicobacter pylori infection among dyspeptic patients in north-eastern Iran: is endoscopic biopsy and histopathological assessment necessary?

EGD with gastric biopsy mapping should be performed even in the presence of normal-appearing mucosa, especially in dyspeptic patients older than 40 years with opium addiction in north-eastern Iran. Owing to the high prevalence of precancerous conditions and H. pylori infection among patients with dyspepsia in parts of Iran, large-scale national screening in this country should be beneficial.