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Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Mar 15, 2026; 18(3): 113757
Published online Mar 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i3.113757
Comprehensive modeling of the Correa cascade in precancerous lesions of gastric cancer: Leveraging animal, cellular, and organoid systems for translational insights
Li-Jie Zhou, Xin-Yu Hao, Chen Wang, Ning-Ning Ren, Yan-Gang Wang
Li-Jie Zhou, Chen Wang, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Third Affiliated Hospital, Beijing 100029, China
Xin-Yu Hao, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Ning-Ning Ren, Yan-Gang Wang, Department of Spleen and Stomach, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Third Affiliated Hospital, Beijing 100029, China
Yan-Gang Wang, Department of Spleen and Stomach, Hebei Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China
Co-first authors: Li-Jie Zhou and Xin-Yu Hao.
Co-corresponding authors: Ning-Ning Ren and Yan-Gang Wang.
Author contributions: Zhou LJ and Hao XY designed the research study and analyzed the data, and contributed equally as co-first authors; Zhou LJ drafted the manuscript; Wang C revised the manuscript; Ren NN and Wang YG provided critical review and editing, and contributed equally as co-corresponding authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82575015; Beijing Natural Science Foundation, No. 7232281; and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, No. 2025-JYB-JBGS-001.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Ning-Ning Ren, PhD, Department of Spleen and Stomach, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Third Affiliated Hospital, No. 11 North Third Ring East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China. renning2024@163.com
Received: September 3, 2025
Revised: November 28, 2025
Accepted: January 4, 2026
Published online: March 15, 2026
Processing time: 190 Days and 22.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (GC), including atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia, represent the pivotal transition in the Correa cascade. Accurate modeling of these lesions is crucial for dissecting early gastric tumorigenesis and identifying chemopreventive strategies. This scoping study systematically summarizes current precancerous lesions of GC models, including chemical- and infection-induced animal systems, transformed gastric epithelial cell lines, and organoid platforms derived from stem cells. We highlight their advantages, limitations, and recent advances such as genome editing, single-cell technologies, and immune co-culture. These insights provide a roadmap for selecting appropriate experimental systems and accelerating translational research in early GC prevention and therapy.