(Contributing Author: Dr. Zhang, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University) >
Gastric cancer is a common digestive tract tumor that often occurs in people over the age of 50, with a male to female ratio of 2: 1. Because the early symptoms are not obvious, and occasionally some gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach pain, loss of appetite, nausea, etc. are not paid attention, they are often mistaken for gastritis or other stomach diseases. In the late stage, the mortality rate is high, which seriously affects human health and quality of life.
So, how to detect gastric cancer early is crucial important.
< strong>01Timely specialist consultation:
Research methods have found that more than 70% of patients with early gastric cancer have no obvious symptoms. Common symptoms include: upper abdominal distention and discomfort, loss of appetite , indigestion or accompanied by acid regurgitation, acid regurgitation, heartburn, nausea and vomiting, belching, melena and other symptoms, as well as unexplained weight loss, obvious weight loss, etc., although some benign gastric lesions such as benign gastric ulcer, gastric sarcoma , benign gastric tumors and chronic gastritis will also have similar symptoms, but due to the atypical symptoms of early gastric cancer, if you do not seek medical treatment in time, diagnosis and treatment will often be delayed. Therefore, people with the above symptoms, especially those with high risk factors, It is best to see a specialist in the hospital to identify the cause of the stomach problem as soon as possible to avoid delay in diagnosis and treatment.
02 Regular screening or re-examination of specific populations:
For 1) people with high risk factors for gastric cancer, aged over 40 years old, usually like to eat pickled food, fried barbecued food, Moldy food, as well as family history of gastric cancer, etc., it is recommended to regularly screen for early detection of gastric cancer lesions.
2) If you are over 40 years old, you have upper abdominal fullness and discomfort after meals, upper abdominal pain, loss of appetite, black stool or blood in the stool, you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible to avoid delayed diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.
3) For some patients with precancerous lesions or patients with “chronic gastric disease”, including a variety of gastritis such as atrophic gastritis, hypertrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyps, residual stomach, etc., Periodic review is required. If there is moderate to severe dysplasia, it is recommended to reexamine every 3 to 6 months, so as to detect cancer as early as possible and give timely treatment. Remnant gastric cancer, gastric ulcer, etc., also need regular follow-up.
The commonly used screening methods include fecal occult blood test, tumor markers such as carcinoembryonic antigen, sugar chain antigen 19-9, cancer antigen 125, and gastroscopy.
In order to reduce the occurrence of gastric cancer, it is necessary to Pay attention to your diet, develop regular eating habits, avoid eating too much pickled food, greasy and spicy fried food, avoid drinking alcohol, and eating moldy food; people with “stomach disease” diseases should actively treat the primary stomach disease to avoid progression At the same time, it is necessary to avoid bad emotions in daily life, maintain a good mood, and get enough sleep, so as to reduce the occurrence of gastric diseases and even gastric cancer.