The father passed away from stomach cancer, and seven years later his son was also diagnosed! This cancer is closely related to diet, remember 6 things to avoid + 1 screening →

The father passed away from gastric cancer, and seven years later, his 38-year-old son was also diagnosed with gastric cancer! According to media reports, Mr. Liu (pseudonym), 38 years old, recently felt a decrease in appetite, and the stomach went from bloating to dull pain, so he immediately went to the hospital for a gastroscopy. The pathology report showed "high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia", which is early cancer.

Because Mr. Liu's father died of gastric cancer a few years ago, Mr. Liu found out in follow-up examinations that he had a family history of first-degree cancer, which means he was also at high risk of gastric cancer. Since then, he has paid special attention to the health of his stomach. He has insisted on having a gastroscopy once a year for seven years until this hospitalization. Fortunately, thanks to Mr. Liu's high awareness of cancer prevention, his cancer was still in the early stage when it was discovered and no major surgery was required.

Gastric cancer can be said to be a cancer that is closely related to our daily life, especially to diet. In addition to infection with Helicobacter pylori, high-salt food, smoked food, fried food, excessive intake of red meat and processed meat, and bad eating habits are closely related. To prevent gastric cancer, we can start from the following points.

Gastric cancer morbidity and mortality are both ranked third

Gastric cancer refers to an epithelial malignant tumor that occurs in the stomach. It is the most common digestive tract malignancy in the world. According to the latest data, the incidence and mortality of gastric cancer in my country are both ranked third among all malignant tumors. There are about 1.2 million new cases of gastric cancer in the world each year, and my country accounts for about 40% of them.

The proportion of early-stage gastric cancer in my country is very low, only about 20%. Most cases are already in the middle or late stages when they are discovered, which leads to the missed best period for diagnosis and treatment. The trend of younger age is also quite significant. In Japan and some developed countries, residents have the habit of regular early screening for gastric cancer, so the early cancer detection rate exceeds 60%.

Early asymptomatic gastritis and gastric ulcer can be easily confused

Gastric cancer has no specific symptoms or obvious signs in the early stages, and it is easily confused with other digestive tract diseases such as gastritis and gastric ulcers. Most patients do not pay enough attention to it and often go to pharmacies to buy stomach medicines to take on their own, which only treats the symptoms but not the root cause.

Common symptoms include: upper abdominal distension or dull pain, which is more severe after meals; loss of appetite, belching, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, black stools, etc.; in addition to the above symptoms, advanced gastric cancer often presents with weight loss, anemia, and fatigue; stomach pain, which continues to worsen and radiates to the low back; cancer in the antrum can cause pyloric obstruction and vomiting of old food; tumor invasion of blood vessels can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, manifested as vomiting blood and black stools; patients with advanced gastric cancer may experience systemic metastasis, severe weight loss, anemia, edema, fever, and cachexia.

Who is susceptible to stomach cancer?

Overeating, smoking and drinking

The occurrence of gastric cancer is a complex process involving multiple factors and evolving in multiple steps. It is the combined result of the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors.

People with bad eating habits. They smoke and drink, often eat high-salt food, smoked food, fried food, such as pickled bacon, salted fish, pickles, barbecue, etc.; and eat too much red meat and processed meat, such as canned food; bad eating habits such as skipping breakfast, irregular eating, fast eating, overeating, eating leftovers, especially overnight green leafy vegetables.

People with bad living habits: Smoking can increase the risk of stomach cancer by 48%, while drinking can increase the risk of stomach cancer by 82%.

History of gastric diseases. People with gastric diseases such as gastric ulcer, gastric polyps, chronic atrophic gastritis, etc., that is, people with precancerous lesions.

People infected with Helicobacter pylori. The World Health Organization's Cancer Research Agency has classified Helicobacter pylori as a Class 1 carcinogen.

People with a bad mental state for a long time, such as depression, worry, depression and other negative emotions, will increase the incidence of gastric cancer.

People in certain special occupations; people living in areas where the geology or water contains harmful substances.

People with a family history of gastric cancer, especially those with a first-degree relative with a history of gastric cancer, have a higher risk of developing cancer.

How to prevent gastric cancer scientifically?

Primary prevention: We can take targeted prevention measures based on the high-risk factors for gastric cancer.

1. Stay away from barbecue and fried food. Barbecue and fried food can induce cancer. Clinically, it is found that more than half of gastric cancer patients aged 30 to 40 love to eat barbecue or spicy hot pot.

2. Stay away from irregular eating. Irregular meals, one full meal and one hungry meal, are very harmful to the stomach. These people have a higher risk of gastric cancer than normal people.

3. Stay away from tobacco and alcohol. There is no doubt that tobacco and alcohol are harmful to the human body. Benzopyrene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tobacco, and alcohol as a first-class carcinogen, enter the stomach and cause serious damage.

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4. Stay away from Helicobacter pylori. Studies have shown that Helicobacter pylori infection is a type of carcinogen that causes gastric cancer. If a patient is found to have Helicobacter pylori, he or she can follow the doctor's advice to use quadruple therapy for treatment.

5. Stay away from obesity. Recently, a major study published in Cancer Cell, a well-known journal in the field of oncology, evaluated the impact of fat accumulation and distribution on cancer risk in women and men. Except for brain cancer, cervical cancer and testicular cancer, all types of cancer are associated with at least one fat characteristic in men or women.

6. Stay away from bad living habits. Change bad living habits such as bad eating habits, maintain a good work and rest routine, exercise properly; eat more fresh vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins, etc.

Secondary prevention: The most important thing for gastric cancer prevention is early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment. Physical examinations should be performed regularly, at designated locations, to reduce the mortality rate of gastric cancer and improve the long-term survival rate.

1. Regular gastroscopy screening can detect 95% of early cancer

Since early gastric cancer has no specific symptoms and is very secretive, with only changes in the color of the gastric mucosa, current CT color ultrasound and other technologies cannot capture such tiny lesions. Gastroscopy uses a thin, soft tube to extend into the examinee's stomach and through the endoscopic probe, it can visually and clearly see the situation inside the stomach. In other words, endoscopic screening can detect gastric cancer and precancerous lesions early, timely and accurately, which is of great significance to patients.

Endoscopy and endoscopic biopsy are currently the "gold standard" for diagnosing gastric cancer, and can detect 95% of early cancers. Therefore, gastroscopy is the preferred way to detect gastric diseases. For people with high risk factors for gastric cancer, it is recommended to undergo a gastroscopy once a year.

2. These people need to undergo gastroscopy screening

Recurrent abdominal pain, especially pain in the upper abdomen and around the navel, with no clear cause;

Vomiting blood or black stools, suspected upper gastrointestinal bleeding;

Frequent nausea and vomiting, especially vomiting of stomach contents;

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There are obvious digestive tract symptoms such as upper abdominal discomfort, swallowing discomfort, upper abdominal fullness, anorexia, acid reflux, belching, heartburn, etc.;

Unexplained weight loss, emaciation, anemia;

3. Choose between regular gastroscopy and painless gastroscopy

Compared with ordinary gastroscopy, painless gastroscopy is performed by the doctor before the gastroscopy, which can reduce the examination time, relieve the patient's pain, and increase the patient's acceptability. However, the following groups are absolutely contraindicated for painless gastroscopy, including: those aged > 70 years; those with heart disease such as coronary heart disease; those with lung disease and in the acute attack stage such as acute attack of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; those with a history of mental illness or craniocerebral trauma; those who are allergic to anesthetic drugs. Therefore, the choice of gastroscopy screening method needs to be combined with one's own situation and the doctor's advice.

Level 3 prevention: Once gastric cancer is diagnosed, you should follow the doctor's instructions regularly and throughout the treatment process;

Gastric cancer is preventable and curable. I hope everyone can pay attention to their own health, prevent gastric cancer from getting worse, and prepare for it!

Source: Chongqing University Cancer Hospital

Author: Sun Hao

Audit expert: He Rui

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