Xu FY, Wu CH, Chen HT. Recommendations for chronic atrophic gastritis research: Highlighting sex-related factors, gastric microbiota, and in-depth mechanistic validation. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(37): 119553 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.119553]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hai-Tao Chen, PhD, Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Xinhua Hospital of Zhejiang Province, No. 318 Chaowang Road, Hangzhou 310005, Zhejiang Province, China. 546675503@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
review-article
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World J Gastroenterol. Oct 7, 2026; 32(37): 119553 Published online Oct 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119553
Recommendations for chronic atrophic gastritis research: Highlighting sex-related factors, gastric microbiota, and in-depth mechanistic validation
Fang-Yue Xu, Chang-Hong Wu, Hai-Tao Chen
Fang-Yue Xu, Chang-Hong Wu, The Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, Zhejiang Province, China
Hai-Tao Chen, Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Xinhua Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310005, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Fang-Yue Xu and Chang-Hong Wu.
Author contributions: Xu FY wrote the original draft; Wu CH contributed to the initial manuscript editing; Chen HT contributed to conceptualization and critical revisions; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Xu FY and Wu CH contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Corresponding author: Hai-Tao Chen, PhD, Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Xinhua Hospital of Zhejiang Province, No. 318 Chaowang Road, Hangzhou 310005, Zhejiang Province, China. 546675503@qq.com
Received: February 2, 2026 Revised: February 14, 2026 Accepted: March 4, 2026 Published online: October 7, 2026 Processing time: 214 Days and 3 Hours
Abstract
Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) serves as a well-recognized precancerous lesion of gastric cancer, and research on its treatment has attracted considerable attention. With advances in technology and research, the factors contributing to the onset and progression of CAG are becoming increasingly clear. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has shown good therapeutic potential for CAG; however, objective deficiencies in the experimental design and the still-unclear mechanism of some studies, limit the broader clinical application of TCM. Therefore, this paper intends to propose and summarize the following issues: (1) Is it necessary to pay attention to the sex-related factors in CAG research? (2) Why is gastric microbiota detection important in CAG research? and (3) How to further improve mechanism research in TCM studies?
Core Tip: Recently, several studies on chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) have demonstrated the significant therapeutic efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Based on recent advances, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of sex-related factors and the gastric microbiota detection in CAG research, as well as to further improve mechanism research with more sufficient experimental evidence in TCM studies.
