In addition to an association between MUC1 VNTR polymorphisms and susceptibility for both H. pylori-induced gastritis and gastric cancer (Garcia et al., 1997; Silva et al., 2001, 2003; Vinall et al., 2002), altered MUC1 expression levels and glycosylation patterns have been associated with patients with inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease (reviewed in Jass and Walsh, 2001). This evidence concerns the gene MUC1 and gastritis.