Gastric biopsies of the non neoplastic area of 46 patients with gastric cancer and 59 gastric biopsies of dyspeptic patients without gastric cancer were reviewed by one pathologist, without knowing from which group they were coming, to determine the histopathologic findings. The results of both groups were compared. Intestinal metaplasia was found to be significantly higher in gastric cancer patients than in patients without neoplasia (54,3 and 25,4% respectively) (p=0,001). Also in patients with cancer and intestinal metaplasia, this was of the complete type in about 80% of the cases. A number of items were assessed using logistic regression, we found that the presence of complete metaplasia, gastric atrophy and hypertrophy of the mucinogenous vacuole correlates with the presence of gastric cancer (p=0,0159 0,0080 y 0,0280 respectively). H.pylori presence was similar in both groups.The study was done between November 1997 and November 1998 at the Cayetano Heredia National Hospital and the National Institute of Neoplastic Diseases.