Stomach cancer has the highest mortality rate among malignant tumors.
As a malignant tumor with a high incidence, gastric cancer does not have too many obvious symptoms in the early stage, and it is not easy to detect. When it is found, it is mostly advanced gastric cancer, and this Most of the time, it can only be conservative treatment.
However, there are data to prove that most early gastric cancers can be treated radically under endoscopy, and the 5-year survival rate can exceed 90%, and if it is advanced gastric cancer, even The 5-year survival rate was less than 30% after comprehensive treatment with surgery as the mainstay.
This also means that if gastric cancer can be detected and treated early, the mortality rate can be greatly reduced.
In the face of stomach cancer, why has Japan become the biggest winner?
According to data, the 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer in Japan can reach 80%, far exceeding other countries such as China and the United States.
But the problem is that although Japanese food seems to be bland, it is actually not that healthy, such as tempura and fried foods, which are high in calories and fat. For example, Japanese people like to drink it. The miso soup, ramen, etc., are also quite high in salt.
These foods will more or less plant a “time bomb” for gastric cancer.
But why is the treatment of gastric cancer in Japan so outrageous?
In fact, Japan, like my country, is also a region with a high incidence of gastric cancer. As early as the 1960s, Japan conducted a census for gastric cancer among people over 40 years old, and the early detection rate exceeded 60%. %.
And the reason why the death rate of gastric cancer is far lower than that in China is the most critical and important reason—–Comprehensive census.
According to data, as long as Japanese people over 40 years old in Japan, they will go to the hospital regularly for gastroscopy.
Gastric endoscopy will bring some discomfort to people, but Japanese people are generally accustomed to this kind of examination. It can detect gastric cancer early and carry out active treatment, and the cure rate is also high. will be higher.
At the same time, citizens also attach importance to Helicobacter pylori screening.
According to research, Helicobacter pylori belongs to a class of carcinogens, and Helicobacter pylori can cause gastric ulcers, but there are different opinions on whether it can cause gastric cancer.
Beginning in 2013, Japan’s national health insurance also began to pay for the radical treatment of gastric ulcers. As long as citizens over the age of 12 need to go to the hospital to screen for Helicobacter pylori, from here Greatly reduces the risk of gastric cancer.
The popularity of refrigerators also helps reduce the incidence of gastric cancer
In addition, some scholars believe that Japan began to popularize refrigerators as early as the 1970s, which also reduced the incidence of gastric cancer to a certain extent.
What? refrigerator? Are you sure you’re right?
The benefit of the refrigerator is that it preserves leftovers and food better, so people don’t have to resort to as many preservatives, including salt, to preserve food.
Of course, this kind of speculation is only a theoretical analysis.There are no large-scale clinical trials and data theory to support.
What can we do to reduce stomach cancer?
Of course, this article is not just to praise Japan, and I don’t want to make a pot of Bushido soup, but I really want to learn from Japan.
In fact, in the face of gastric cancer, the level of Japanese treatment is not the key. The key is how Japan reduces the incidence of gastric cancer step by step.
Although the data shows that the incidence of gastric cancer in China is less than that in Japan, considering that the population base is too large, the number of gastric cancer in China accounts for almost half of the world’s.
And what we can see is that the early screening of gastric cancer is very important.
Many patients with gastric cancer are classified as advanced gastric cancer as soon as they are discovered, because the early detection of gastric cancer is not carried out in the early stage.
Therefore, for people in areas with a high incidence of gastric cancer, patients with Helicobacter pylori infection, or who have ever suffered from atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyps and other gastritis STDs.
Or patients with gastric cancer in their first-degree relatives, and high-risk groups such as other high-risk factors for gastric cancer, it is recommended to receive gastric cancer in a timely manner. Screening.
If you wait until symptoms such as weight loss, gastrointestinal bleeding, and upper abdominal discomfort appear before you arrive for a checkup, it may be too late.
References:
【1】Asaka, M. and K. Mabe, Strategies for eliminating death from gastric cancer in Japan. Proc Jpn Acad Ser B Phys Biol Sci, 2014. 90(7): p. 251-8.