MUC1 and gastric cancer: 20 revealed that MUC1 rs4072037, PRKAA1 rs13361707, and PLCE1 rs2274223 may interact with H. pylori infection and increase the risk of GC. Severe intestinal metaplasia (IM) and dysplasia are precancerous lesions of GC. The risk of GC generally increases with the histological grade (from low to high grade) of IM and dysplasia 21. Many polymorphisms associated with GC may also be related to gastric precancerous lesions 22, 23.