Early screening for gastric cancer keeps your stomach healthy

Gastric cancer is one of the most common digestive tract tumors and seriously threatens human life. At present, in my country, gastric cancer presents the characteristics of high incidence, high mortality, high metastasis rate, and low early diagnosis rate. Since gastric cancer is often found in the middle and late stages, the survival rate of patients for more than five years is low. Therefore, we must pay attention to the early screening of gastric cancer. "Stomach" comes with health!

1. Which groups of people need to pay attention and undergo gastric cancer screening?

According to the epidemiological characteristics of gastric cancer in my country, those who meet any of the following items (1) and (2)-(6) should be classified as high-risk groups and are recommended as screening targets:

(1) Age > 40 years old, regardless of gender.

(2) People living in areas with a high incidence of gastric cancer.

(3) Patients infected with Helicobacter pylori.

(4) Patients with a history of precancerous diseases such as chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyps, residual stomach after surgery, hypertrophic gastritis, pernicious anemia, etc.

(5) First-degree relatives of gastric cancer patients, namely, parents, children, and siblings (with the same parents) of gastric cancer patients.

(6) The presence of other high-risk factors for gastric cancer (high-salt, pickled, smoked diet, smoking, heavy drinking, etc.).

2. What are the symptoms of gastric cancer?

In the early stages, patients may experience the following symptoms: indigestion and stomach discomfort, feeling of fullness after eating, mild nausea, lack of appetite, burning sensation in the stomach, etc. Most patients in the early stages have no obvious signs, and deep tenderness in the upper abdomen may be the only noteworthy sign. As the disease progresses, patients may experience the following symptoms: blood in the stool, vomiting, nonspecific weight loss, persistent upper abdominal pain, jaundice, yellowing of the sclera and skin, ascites, abdominal effusion, and gastric cancer close to the esophagus may experience difficulty swallowing or reflux. Gastric cancer may also present signs such as abdominal mass, stomach shape, and stomach gurgling sounds. Once distant metastasis occurs, metastasis to different organs will present different clinical manifestations.

3. How to treat gastric cancer?

The treatment strategy for gastric cancer is a comprehensive treatment with surgery as the main method. Some early gastric cancers can be removed under endoscopy, and advanced gastric cancer emphasizes adequate gastrectomy and lymph node dissection. Chemotherapy is suitable for patients with unresectable or postoperative recurrence, and can also be used as an adjuvant treatment after radical surgery for gastric cancer. Gastric cancer is less sensitive to radiotherapy and is rarely used, but it can be used to relieve local pain symptoms caused by cancer. In addition, there are also immunotherapy, targeted therapy, traditional Chinese medicine treatment and other methods.

4. What should we pay attention to in daily life?

(1) Actively treat Helicobacter pylori infection and precancerous lesions of gastric cancer, eat less pickled, smoked, and grilled foods, and quit smoking and drinking.

(2) Live a regular life, eat on time, and avoid overeating or binge drinking.

(3) Regular outpatient check-ups. If abdominal discomfort occurs, seek medical attention promptly and receive regular chemotherapy.

(4) Participate in certain activities and exercises, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, and avoid excessive fatigue.