Screening for gastric cancer in Western countries

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.1 In 2013, 841 000 people worldwide died due to gastric cancer.2 Eastern Asia, Eastern Europe and some regions in Central and South America have the highest incidence of stomach cancer, whereas Western Europe and North America have lower rates. The majority of gastric malignancies are intestinal type adenocarcinomas.3 These cancers develop according to a multistep process, in strong association with Helicobacter pylori infection. This bacterium causes chronic gastritis, which can slowly progress via atrophy, intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia to gastric adenocarcinoma.4 This process takes decades3 and provides an excellent window of opportunity for early detection and prevention of gastric cancer. Several strategies have been proposed for gastric cancer screening. These include H. pylori screening and treatment, endoscopy with random or targeted biopsy sampling, serological...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research